The Weakest Link
by Tanglepelt
Summary: A sinister organization discovers the existence of personified countries and forces four of them to be their pawns in a plot to overthrow America's government. *M for torture, blood, and scientific experimentation.*
1. Chapter 00

**Hello, and welcome to yet another one of my Hetalia fanfics. **

**Note: This story will be the darkest I have written. I might bump the rating up when I get to the gruesome parts of it. (If I do change the rating to 'M', it will NOT be because of sexual content. Not at all. However, I _am_ planning on adding some pretty horrific torture scenes to this story [it actually plays a big part in the plot ^_^'], so that is what will cause the rating to jump up a level.) However, for right now, I will keep it at 'T', since there won't be anything intense in the first few chapters.**

**This story is set in the year 2030.**

**This chapter might be a bit short, but that's because it's the prologue.**

**Since Iceland doesn't have a human name, I took the liberty of giving him one, for this story.  
NOTE: I have looked at countless sites, and have concluded that Iceland does not have a human name. (Himaruya stopped giving the Nations human names.) I have also read countless fanfics with the Nordics as central characters, and have seen quite a few names being used. The most popular were Emil, Erikur, and Haldur. I chose 'Erikur' because I liked the way it sounded. (Plus, I used that name for him in 'The Number Three', and I am used to calling him that.) If anyone knows of a genuine source that says Iceland has a human name, link me to it, and then I'll change his name. **

***Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya. Not me. (If I did, the 'Polish-Swedish Wars' comic would, like, totally be animated…)***

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**Chapter 00**

"Is this some sort of a joke?" Vincent Crowley pounded his fist on the table, just missing the four open folders that were laid out in front of his spot.

"No sir, it's no joke." One of Crowley's subordinates, known only as Schramm, nervously adjusted his tie. "Everything in those folders is completely factual." He coughed and continued to fiddle with his clothing. "We, er, actually knew about this a year ago; we just wanted to get a research facility and willing scientists available in advance so we can get started on this as soon as possible."

"You knew about this for a year. Yet you didn't tell me." Crowley's voice took on a dangerously low level.

"W-we wanted to make sure we got the facts straight and the right people for the job before we went to you!" Stanfield, Crowley's second underling, stuttered.

Crowley nodded, pursing his pale lips. "Very well. What does this have to do with our organization, and our goals?"

Schramm was quick to answer this one. "Well," he began, "the people in these folders might be expendable, but with the tests our scientists have set up, we can get information from them. Information on the inner workings of the American and Russian governments, for example. Information we can use to topple said governments from the inside out."

"However," Stanfield added, nervously pushing his glasses higher on his nose, "none of our first targets are over seventeen years of age. Are you willing to sacrifice children for this movement?"

"Of course." Crowley didn't bat an eye. "Sacrifices must be made in order for us to be successful." He gestured to one of the folders and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Besides, they're not even human; they're unnatural beings whose existence should be impossible."

"If you say so, sir." Stanfield said nothing more, but his eyes softened as he brushed his hand over one of the folders. Hoping that no one saw his expression change, he quickly fixed it to a scowl. He was lucky; no one said anything.

"If I may ask, where did you come across this information?" Crowley narrowed his eyes.

"Well, sir," responded Schramm, "one of our tech guys accidentally traced this one's—" he pointed at the last folder, "—phone call. From what the brat was saying, the tech discovered his true identity. We did some more research on this guy, and voila, we found out exactly what he, and the others, are. There are more of them, too. One for every country in the world."

"Interesting." Crowley picked up each of the folders and studied them. "Erikur Pettersen: the personification of Iceland. Raivis Galante: personification of Latvia. Eduard von Bock: personification of Estonia. And Peter Kirkland: personification of Sealand." He paused, dropping Peter's folder. "What the hell is 'Sealand'?"

"It's a micronation off the coast of England," Stanfield explained. "Personifications of micronations exist too, apparently."

"Whatever." Crowley waved his hand. "Moving on, you said before that these…things…will help us take down the American and Russian governments. How?"

Once again, Schramm answered the question. Stanfield didn't mind; he was actually starting to feel sick. "If we hurt the brats, and maybe kill one of them, odds are someone is going to give us the identity of America or Russia, or even both. Once that happens, we can approach them and force them to give us the information we need to infiltrate their governments. Once we're in, we can plan a coup. With how corrupt and faulty both governments are, it'll be easy to take over and gain control. With one or both of the world's superpowers under our foot, it'll be easier for the Sunrise Party to take over other nations. If we play our cards right, the world could be ours in a decade." The large man took a breath before continuing. "Plus, by experimenting on these four, we can see what makes these…creatures…tick. If we find out how their bodies work, we can possibly create our own."

Crowley nodded, listening intently to every word. "Schramm, Stanfield. Good work. I will endorse this project; it seems to have promise, and will further advance the Sunrise Party's goal. How soon will you be able to capture the four?"

"Whenever you're ready," Schramm stated. "We just need to give the scientists the green light to move into the facility. Once they're set up, I'll nab Pettersen and Kirkland, while Stanfield'll get von Bock and Galante. I'd estimate that we'll be able to capture them in a week, to give the scientists plenty of time to settle in."

"Perfect." Crowley smirked, leering at the photos of their victims. "You're dismissed."

Stanfield and Schramm nodded. They each took the folders of their targets, and went their separate ways. As soon as Stanfield made it to his car, he opened the folders, looking at the youthful faces. He closed his eyes, his stomach feeling sicker than it did before. _Raivis Galante, age fifteen. Eduard von Bock, age seventeen. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…_

Opening his eyes, he closed the folders and composed himself. _It's for the greater good. Remember that. The Sunrise Party will create a better world for everyone. _But as he started to drive, Raivis's innocent pale-blue eyes bore into his soul, making him dread what he was ordered to do.

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**I know that was short, but I hope it was interesting! **

**As for the four 'targets', why did I choose Sealand, Iceland, Latvia, and Estonia? Well, I chose the last two because they're my favorite characters. (Don't worry, Lithuania will have an important role in this story, too, though he'll show up later.) As for Sealand and Iceland, I love them, too, and wanted to practice writing them, so I figured 'why not make them the other two protagonists?'**

**I know this focused on the OC villains (I hope they were interesting enough), but the next chapter, and the others following it, will focus on Latvia, Iceland, Estonia, and Sealand. **

**This takes place in the future, but everything is pretty much the same as it is, now. (Except TVs and computers'll be a little more high-tech.)**

**Once again, I hope everyone enjoyed this. This is my first time writing something sci-fi-ish for Hetalia, so hopefully, it isn't too awful. **


	2. Chapter 01

**Hello! Welcome to the first chapter of 'The Weakest Link'. Hopefully, this will be enjoyable to read~!**

**This chapter will focus on our victims—er, heroes, XDD. Each one of the characters will get at least some parts of chapters starring them, but I'm saying right now that I tend to favor the Baltics over the others, since I write about them so much, and know their characters better than Iceland or Sealand. **

**Now, on with the story!**

***Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya***

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**Chapter 01**

Raivis Galante, otherwise known as the personification of Latvia, woke up to a searing pain in his head. Rolling onto his side, he bit his lip to keep from whimpering when the pain intensified. Blinking his eyes to get used to the darkness, he looked to see if he was alone in whatever room he was presumed locked in. At first, he couldn't see anything, but as his eyes adjusted, he noticed that there were three other shapes—person-looking shapes—leaning against the wall.

"Hello?" he managed to rasp, wincing at how scratchy his voice sounded.

"Latvia?" A British-accented voice called. "You're finally awake!" He heard the smallest figure run over to him, and felt the younger boy's embrace.

"Sealand?" he whispered, slowly sitting up. "Where are we?"

"We don't know," another familiar voice responded. "We woke up here a half an hour ago, just as confused as you are."

_Estonia. _When he heard his friend's calm voice, relief filled his heart. "Is that Lithuania, over there?"

"No." By speaking, the last figure made himself known. "Lithuania's not here."

"Iceland." Latvia nodded his head, accidentally adding more pain to it. This time, he couldn't suppress his whimper, and he felt small hands gently touching his head.

"You have a bunch of bumps everywhere," Sealand concluded. "Did that fat communist Russia hit you with that faucet pipe, again?"

"Shh!" Latvia's eyes flitted from side to side, though he couldn't really see anything. "We don't know where we are! For all we know, we could be in Russia's house!"

"I don't think so." Latvia could just sense Estonia pushing his glasses further up on his nose. "We were drugged; I can feel the needle mark. A man knocked on my door, saying he needed directions, then grabbed me when I let him in. That's not Russia's style; if he really wanted us back, he would have come to get us himself. Plus, if Russia was the one behind this, Lithuania would be here, instead of Iceland and Sealand."

"That's right." Suddenly, images filled Latvia's mind, and he curled up, remembering how he was captured…

_As soon as Latvia heard someone knocking at his door, he knew something was wrong. Because of his days as Russia's subordinate, and how he was treated, he became quite paranoid that the large Nation would return for him. He hated surprise visits, and made everyone who wanted to spend the day with him notify him a day in advance. All his friends knew this, so Latvia concluded that the person at his door was Russia, or one of his people. Too frightened to take the chance, he quietly ran upstairs and dove under his bed, curling up._

Please go away._ He knew that he was probably being stupid, and he hated himself for acting like a child, but he couldn't help himself; years of torment conditioned him to act this way. He sighed in relief when the knocking stopped. _

_However, that relief was short-lived; not even a minute later, a loud 'bang' echoed throughout Latvia's house. _

He kicked the door down! What am I going to do? _Now sure his mystery guest was Russia, the small blond allowed himself to cry silently. When he saw heavy-looking boots enter his room, and walk by the bed, he reflexively whimpered. _

_Realizing what he just did, Latvia covered his mouth, shaking even more. _Damn it! He must have heard me!

_He was right. A hand shot under the bed, grabbing his ankle and pulling him forward. Letting out a shrill shriek, Latvia tried to stay in his hiding place. Much to his dismay, his attacker was much stronger than he was, and with one final tug, he succeeded in pulling him out from under the bed. Strong hands prevented him from moving, and he was forced to look into the icy blue eyes of Russia. _

Wait. That's not right. _Latvia knew too well that the cold Nation had murky violet eyes. Suddenly confused, he realized that he was being attacked by someone he didn't know. _

_"Raivis Galante, the personification of Latvia," the man stated, his voice cold. "I'm sorry." The cold look on his face changed into one of sympathy._

_As soon as Latvia saw the gleam of a needle coming towards him, adrenaline kicked in, and he somehow broke free. He started to run to the door, but the man grabbed the back of his shirt._

_Crying out once more, Latvia thrashed and kicked, trying to free himself. He stiffened when he felt one of the man's hands harshly grip his hair, and he fell limp, memories of Russia overtaking him. By the time he escaped those thoughts, he couldn't stop his head from being slammed into the wall. _

_When he regained coherency, he realized that he was on the floor, the man standing over him._

_"You should have just cooperated, little Raivis. Now I'm going to have to hurt you a lot more than I wanted to."_

_Before Latvia could respond, he felt the man's foot slam against his head once, twice, three times. After the fifth time, he gave into the blackness that was overtaking his vision, his trembling ceasing as he slipped into unconsciousness…_

"Raivis!"

Latvia felt strong arms surrounding his shaking body. He looked up, and through his tears, he saw Estonia's concerned face peering down at him.

"What happened?"

"You had a panic attack," the bespectacled boy explained, concerned.

"Yeah! You were shaking, and whimpering, and your breath got all fast, like this!" Sealand pretended to hyperventilate and cry, causing the timid boy to blush and pull away from Estonia's embrace.

"Sealand. Enough." Iceland's stoic voice caused the micronation to stop mid-shake and pout.

"What? It's not my fault he acts like that!"

"Sealand. Peter. I said 'enough'. Latvia is your friend; you should respect him."

Latvia was surprised that Iceland was sticking up for him; he expected the Nordic Nation to say nothing, and observe the situation from a distance, like Estonia usually did.

"Fine," Sealand grumbled. "Sorry, Latvia."

"It's all right." Though Latvia was a bit hurt by how the younger boy unintentionally mocked him, he didn't hold it against him. He didn't have many friends, so he treasured the few who gave him a chance. Sealand was one of them, and he didn't want to lose the boy's friendship over some petty teasing.

After a few minutes of silence, Iceland spoke. "Do you think we should try to escape?"

"Not yet." Estonia paused to think for a moment. "We have no idea where we are, who took us, and why we're here. It would be illogical to escape at this time."

"Come on! It shouldn't be too hard! I can use my punches of steel to break the door down, and we run out! Simple as that!"

"No, Peter, it isn't that simple. Estonia is right; listen to him."

"Aww, Icey, why are you against me? Is it because of the time Denmark and I stole your licorice?"

"Wait, _what?_ That was you two?"

"Ah…haha…"

"Iceland, Sealand," Estonia harshly whispered. "Shut up. Someone's coming."

As soon as everyone was silent, Latvia could hear footsteps. Reminded of his capture, he whimpered, grabbing Estonia's hand. The older boy returned the gesture, which made Latvia feel some comfort.

"It'll be all right," Estonia whispered. "I'm here with you. Remember that."

Gulping, the small blond nodded.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped. Latvia held his breath and tightened his grip on Estonia's hand. Without any warning, the door slammed open, and a light switch was flipped on, bathing the room in light.

Not used to the sudden brightness, Latvia pressed his face into Estonia's shoulder. When his eyes finally adjusted, he noticed that everyone was wearing a hospital gown, even him. Realizing that this was the reason his legs were cold, he felt incredibly stupid. He also felt incredibly afraid.

"Hello, children." A tall, pale man walked into the room, followed by three others.

"Who are you?" asked Sealand, jumping up. "And why are we here?"

"Ah, Peter Kirkland, the feisty one," the man chuckled, grabbing Sealand's face and stroking it. "All of your questions will be answered in time. For now, let's just say that you four are going to help us with a very special…project."

Now, Sealand looked terrified; Latvia could see that his friend did not like being touched by the mysterious man.

"It's good that you spoke up first, actually," the man mused aloud, pulling Sealand closer to him. "We were going to test you first, anyways."

"Test? What test?" While saying this, Sealand tried to wriggle free. A slap across the face ended his escape attempt.

"We just want to see what makes your body work, and run a few experiments, that's all."

Latvia did not like the man's tone of voice. _Peter…_

"What's there to know? Our bodies are the same as humans', except that we heal faster and we can't die!" The desperation was evident in Sealand's voice. He did not want to be taken by these people.

"Can't die, eh? That's good to know. That means that whatever we do won't kill you." The man started to drag Sealand out of the room.

Feeling a surge of protectiveness, Latvia stood up. Before his mind could process what his body was doing, he ran up to the man and tugged on his shirt. "Please, leave Peter alone. He's too young for whatever you're planning!"

"Are you volunteering yourself instead, little Raivis? How sweet."

Gulping, Latvia answered. "Y-yes." He tried to seem confident, but he could feel his body shaking.

"Very well. We can start with you." He let Sealand go, but roughly grabbed Latvia's hair.

"No!" Estonia stood up, the look on his face one of pure fear. "I'll go first. Don't take Raivis."

"Sorry, Eduard; it's not your turn yet," said the man. "Yours will be later. As for this experiment, Raivis here is the perfect test subject. We'll have lots of fun with him."

Though tears blurred his vision, he saw Estonia run towards the man who held him, only to be kicked in the stomach by one of the others.

"Try anything else, and your little friend here will feel more pain during the procedure," he snarled, kicking the bespectacled boy once more.

When no one did anything more, Latvia felt himself being dragged out of the room by his hair, making the aching in his head worse. _Peter, _he thought, tears dripping down his face, _this is for you. _

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**I'm so evil; I ended it with a cliffhanger, XDD.**

**Hopefully, this wasn't too awful. (I always lack confidence in my writing. Whenever I post a new chapter of something, it feels so nervewracking!) **

**I hope everyone seemed in-character, especially Iceland and Sealand (I am sooo not used to writing them…)**

**Sealand's 'punches of steel' line was a reference to the 2010 Christmas Bloodbath comic.**

**The characters are referred to as 'Nations' in this story (with a capital 'N') as a way to differentiate between them and the actual landmasses they are personifying. Plus, I think it looks cooler than 'nations', XD. **

**Just a heads-up: I will probably change the rating when I post the next chapter. (I'm planning it out, and it will seriously be the most bloody, creepy, and disturbing thing I will ever write. Poor, poor Latvia. Why do you always get hurt in my stories? –Huggles him- Though, in this one, everyone else gets hurt, too…)**

**See you next chapter! **


	3. Chapter 02

**Welcome to Chapter Two! I hope you are enjoying the story thus far.**

**Well, I miscalculated, XDD. The rating will be bumped up next chapter. (This chapter will basically be Estonia's thoughts after Latvia gets taken from their cell.) –Sigh- Eesti is so underappreciated; I had to write a chapter starring him.**

**This chapter is pretty short because it is a transition chapter. I could have combined this and chapter three, but I wanted to keep them separate to add to the suspense. **

***Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya***

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**Chapter 02**

Estonia knew Latvia well. (They had lived together under Russia's rule for a long time, after all.) He knew his strengths, his weaknesses, his greatest fears, and his dreams. Hell, he even knew what his favorite brand of vodka was. As soon as Latvia volunteered to take Sealand's place, Estonia knew that he was acting rashly.

Panic overtaking him, he stood up. "No! I'll go first! Don't take Raivis!"

His heart sank when his offer was refused. For once, he let himself act without thinking, and ran at his friend's captor, and was met with a harsh kick to the stomach. Biting his lip to keep himself from crying out, he dropped to the floor.

"Try anything else, and your little friend here will feel more pain during the procedure," his attacker snarled, kicking him once more.

Estonia knew that the man wasn't playing around. Though it was killing him inside, he allowed the men to drag the now-crying Latvia out of the room.

The door was slammed and locked, but the light was kept on, so Estonia could see the grim expression on Iceland's face, and the confused (but obviously frightened) one on Sealand's.

Suddenly angry, he punched the wall, not caring if his knuckles bled. "Damn it!" he spat.

"Estonia?" Iceland inquired, tilting his head.

"Do you know who those people were?"

"No." The Nordic boy looked a bit puzzled.

"They were scientists," Estonia harshly explained. "They said they were going to experiment on Latvia. Since Sealand told them that we can't die, they're not going to hold back. They're going to hurt him."

After he was done speaking, he hung his head, forcing the tears that were threatening to spill over to stay in his eyes. "I was supposed to protect him if Toris couldn't. I failed."

Estonia could feel Iceland's arm drape across his shoulder, and he stiffened reflexively.

"Maybe they'll just check his heartbeat, or something," Sealand optimistically suggested.

"Did you see the way they looked at him? The way they looked at you? It was like you were a piece of meat, to them! They're going to destroy him, and have fun doing it!"

Embarrassed that he lost his composure, Estonia adjusted his glasses. _Calm down, Eduard. Think about this rationally. _But every time he tried to think logically, the image of the scientists leering at Latvia flashed across his mind.

Suddenly thinking of something, his head snapped up. "Oh no."

"What?" Iceland asked, narrowing his eyes.

"The way they were staring at him was disgusting. What if they want to…?" He let the end of his sentence trail off, not even wanting to speak the words.

"No. These are scientists, remember. They're not going to touch him in that sense."

"Right." Estonia took long, deep breaths to calm himself down. _Worrying unnecessarily won't get me anywhere. _Closing his eyes, he slowed his breath even more. When he was sure that he was back to his normal self, he opened them.

"What should we do about this?" Iceland asked.

"Duh! Let's go after them! I wanna punch the one who was petting my face!"

_He's like a little America! _Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Estonia answered, "I don't think that's such a good idea. I want to go after them too, but we don't know the layout of this building."

"So should we wait until Latvia is brought back here before we plan anything?" Iceland tilted his head once more.

Though he hated it, Estonia nodded. The sick feeling in his stomach remained, but he knew that it was the best option. "Yes," he finally said, closing his eyes. "Let's wait." _I'm sorry, Latvia._

The cell was then filled with silence. After awhile (Estonia didn't exactly know how much time had passed), Sealand spoke. "W-what sort of experiments do you think they're doing to him?"

Clips from various movies and medical documentaries played in his mind. "I don't know," he lied. He didn't want to frighten Sealand (or himself).

"Will he be in pain?" the micronation persisted.

Estonia didn't want to think about that.

"Sealand," warned Iceland. "Stop it."

"But I wanna know!" In a darker tone, the boy continued. "The man said we'd all have our turns. I want to be prepared."

Surprised by Sealand's perceptiveness, Estonia decided to answer honestly. "I don't know. He might be given anesthetics, or he might not be." He desperately hoped the former was correct.

Sealand nodded, though Estonia could see that he wasn't satisfied.

"We're sticking together, no matter what."

Both Estonia and Sealand turned to Iceland, surprised at his outburst.

"When Latvia comes back, we'll think of an escape plan. If one of us is able to leave, but the rest can't, none of us are going. I don't want to leave anyone behind. Plus," he wrung his hands, "Latvia will most likely be unable to escape until he is fully healed. I don't want that to be the case, but I'm just being realistic."

Estonia nodded. "I agree."

Sealand nodded as well.

Iceland narrowed his eyes before turning to the wall. "Now all we have to do is wait."

Suddenly overtaken by fatigue, Estonia curled up on the floor, closing his eyes. He could feel Sealand next to him, and was grateful for the extra warmth. Despite his worry, he was asleep in minutes.

Estonia was jolted out of his sleep when a shrill scream pierced the air.

"I'm sorry!" a familiar voice wailed. "Please, don't!"

Right after those words were spoken, more screams assaulted Estonia's ears. This time, they didn't stop.

He didn't object when Sealand fiercely embraced him, burying his head in the front of his shirt, nor did he object when Iceland moved closer to him and grabbed his hand.

Remembering what he did to Latvia whenever Lithuania was receiving one of his 'punishments', he gently covered Iceland's ears with his hands, trying to block out the noise. Instantly understanding, the Nordic Nation nodded slightly, covering Sealand's ears.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Estonia tried to block out the world around him by answering trivia questions in his mind. It wasn't working; Latvia's screams still rang in his ears, invading every corner of his mind. Finally giving up his reserved, icy persona, he allowed tears to slip down his cheeks. With each agonized shriek, he felt a part of his heart was breaking. By the end of the night, it would feel like it shattered completely.

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**And that's the end of this short chapter.**

**Ugh, for some reason, I feel like I wrote Estonia weirdly, here. (Maybe because I'm not used to him showing so much emotion.) Hopefully, he doesn't seem too out-of-character.**

**The next chapter will explain what happens to Latvia. Be warned; it will be extremely graphic. (Let's just say that the entire idea for this story was inspired by my cat dissection notes from my AP Bio class two years ago…) **

**See you next chapter… **NOTE: The rating will be changed to 'M' the next time this is updated. ****


	4. Chapter 03

**Welcome to Chapter Three of this story!**

**I'm warning you right now that this chapter will be graphic. It will include blood, torture, experimentation, vivisection, etc. all done to a fifteen-year-old. This is probably the most disturbing thing I have ever written. (I still can't believe I actually wrote this…)**

**Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.**

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**Chapter 03**

Latvia supposed it was a good thing that the room he was taken to was only a few rooms down the hall from his cell. Though his heart was pounding, and his body shook, his eyes flitted from side to side, looking for possible escape routes. When he was under Russia's foot (in both the metaphorical sense _and _the literal sense), he wouldn't have dreamed of running away. No, it was best to stay put and hope for the best when dealing with the cold Nation; attempting to flee made everything worse. He knew this from experience. However, none of these people were Russia, so Latvia figured he'd have nothing to lose by trying to run away.

As soon as the grip on his hair slightly loosened, Latvia took the chance and broke free, a handful of his hair ripped from his head in the process. However, he forgot the fact that he was kicked in the head multiple times hours before, so he wasn't counting on his running to be erratic. By the time he reached the door, one of the men grabbed him roughly, dragging him back to the others.

By this time, Latvia was shaking uncontrollably. He had finally looked at his surroundings, and realized that he was in what looked to be a hospital room mixed with a science lab. Various surgical instruments were laid out on small tables, and a sinister-looking lab table took up the middle part of the room. Tears filling his eyes, he resisted the urge to vomit when he was dragged closer to the table.

Suddenly, the man who held him let him go, yelling, "Shit!"

The tall man who previously taunted Sealand grabbed Latvia's hair before he could escape, again. "What?"

"The little brat pissed himself! All over my shoes, too!" Angrily, the man drew his hand back and slapped Latvia across the face.

"It's all right, Schramm," Latvia's captor stated. "Better he did that now than all over my table."

"Whatever, Fletcher. You owe me a new pair of shoes, then."

The tall man, Fletcher, said nothing; he only dragged Latvia, who was now too shocked to resist, over to the table. He quickly removed his hospital gown and boxers before roughly picking him up and slamming him onto it.

As soon as the back of Latvia's head hit the table, he cried out, his world spinning. When he was able to see again, he found his arms, legs, and the lower part of his torso restrained. Some sort of soft block was placed between his back and the table, forcing his chest upwards.

"Feel that?" Fletcher smirked. "It's called a body block. It pushes your chest up, making it easier for me to work with. It's normally used during autopsies."

"W-what?"

"Oh, stupid me! I'm getting ahead of myself! Something needs to be done about your escape-artist tendencies, little Raivis." He nodded to one of the other scientists, who grabbed something from a cabinet. "It'll be easy to shatter some bones in your legs; they're like toothpicks."

Before Latvia could respond, the sledgehammer, which now was completely visible in his line of sight, swung down and hit his left leg with agonizing force. Tears poured from his eyes and he screamed, feeling a bone break. He didn't even have time to stop screaming and prepare himself before the same was done to his other leg.

"I'm sorry!" he cried, "Please, stop!"

"I'll give you one chance, Raivis," Fletcher said, coldly. "If you give us the names and locations of the ones you call America, Russia, and some others, I'll make sure you don't feel any more pain."

"N-no!" Latvia blurted out. Though Russia terrorized him during the Soviet Union era, the large Nation was trying to change himself, and his mentality. Latvia had no intention of being friends with him, but he wouldn't subject him to this. As for America, though he was ditzy, naïve, and annoying, he was a genuinely nice guy, and Latvia liked him.

"Trying to be a tough guy, eh?" Fletcher chuckled. "Let's see how long you can keep that up." Turning to the rest of the scientists, he commanded, "Start taking observational notes."

He picked a scalpel up from the closest table and made sure Latvia saw it before it was brushed against his chest.

"You have so many scars, little one." He traced each of the old wounds with the scalpel, making Latvia flinch. "I read your file. It must have been hard, living under Russia. He made your life a living hell, didn't he?" He shook his head. "Well, _Latvia, _by the time I'm done, you're going to wish you were being whipped by Russia."

Fletcher smirked, and without any warning, dug the scalpel into Latvia's right shoulder.

Screaming, Latvia tried to thrash away, only to have the restraints dig into his wrists and arms. He felt the knife break through every layer of skin and jerkily move downwards until it reached his sternum. The same was done to the other side, making the top of a 'Y' when it was finished. By this time, Latvia was barely conscious. Somehow, he was jolted into full awareness, just in time to hear Fletcher speak.

"Oh no, you're not passing out on me. We haven't even got to the fun part, yet!" Smiling, the tall man plunged the scalpel into the middle of the cuts, slicing slowly and deliberately downward.

Latvia screamed more, tears spilling from his eyes like rivers. He could feel the blood dripping out of the wounds and pooling on the table below him, feeling uncomfortably warm and sticky against his bare flesh. His cries—and the blood flow—increased when surgical shears were used to snip the skin around the incisions. When Fletcher was done, and the shears were placed back on the table, Latvia's breathing rate increased. _Please, let it be over soon! _

His prayers were unanswered. His eyes rolled back in his head, and his screaming intensified when his skin was ripped from its place, peeled back, and pinned, exposing his ribs and vulnerable organs. "Please! STOP!"

"I've come this far, Raivis, and the experiment hasn't even begun. Unless…what are America and Russia's names?"

Though the pain was agonizingly intense, Latvia smiled. There was still one thing he could control. "No."

"Still not talking? Are you a masochist, or something?" Fletcher shook his head. "This makes it more fun for me, though; your screams are beautiful. Maybe that's why Russia liked to keep you around all those years."

Latvia narrowed his eyes. His vision went blurry, and he could no longer hear anything. Closing his eyes, he allowed the blackness to overtake him.

Once again jolted awake, Latvia was forced to look into the cold, emerald eyes of Fletcher, who stood over him with some sort of…saw.

"Ah, little Raivis is awake. Wonderful! Just in time for something fun!" He pressed a button on the intimidating instrument, making it functional.

Latvia realized too late what was about to happen. Animalistic screams tore from his throat when the saw sliced through his ribs.

"Make it stop!" he begged, his voice getting hoarse from all the screaming. "Why are you doing this?"

"Isn't it obvious, my dear Raivis? We want to know what makes you function. We _are _scientists, after all."

"No. You're monsters!" Latvia snapped, spitting blood onto Fletcher's face.

The tall man's face contorted with anger, and with one final 'crack', he succeeded in removing the small blond's ribs. They were painfully pulled out of his body in one piece, and Latvia stared at them, morbidly fascinated, before a fresh wave of pain hit him, this one worse than the others. With a strangled gasp, he began to hyperventilate.

"Look at his little heart move! It's so cute!" One of the female scientists giggled, pointing.

"You're right!" Fletcher responded. "I wonder what'll happen if I do this…" Smirking, he roughly poked the exposed organ.

Screaming until his throat burned, Latvia squeezed his eyes shut and prayed for death. _Please. Please, just let me die like Ancient Rome and Germania. I can't take any more. _Even if he wanted to tell Fletcher who America was, he couldn't; he was in so much pain that he couldn't speak. He couldn't even scream when the cruel man poked his heart over and over again. With each jab, black spots danced across his tear-filled, sore eyes.

"Hmm… Maybe this'll get a noise out of you."

Latvia felt Fletcher's hand pressing down on one of his lungs, and he gasped, coughing violently and screaming at the same time. When he tried to grip the table, his hands slipped because of all the blood.

"You know what?" Fletcher asked. "I wonder what would happen if I cut out your heart. You're immortal like that Kirkland brat said, and you're immune to blood loss, so I wonder…"

Latvia shook his head violently, forcing his voice as loud as he could to scream "NO!" over and over again. Losing blood was one thing; his immortal body could always manufacture more. But his heart? Once a Nation lost a limb, or an organ, it was gone for good.

"I'll tell you who and where everyone is!" Latvia cried, his voice now barely above a whisper. "Please, don't cut my heart out. Please!"

"That's a good boy." Fletcher softly stroked the small blond's hair, coating it with blood. His own blood. "America?"

"Alfred F. Jones. He lives in New York City."

"Russia?"

"Ivan Braginski. St. Petersburg."

"Sweden?"

"Berwald Oxenstierna. Stockholm."

The list went on and on, and Latvia answered every question mechanically. However, his voice broke when Lithuania was mentioned.

"Toris Laurinaitis," he sobbed. "Kaunas." He hoped that out of any of the Nations he mentioned, Lithuania was the one they'd capture next. It was selfish, yes, but he wanted to be comforted by his friend, to be held in his arms. He didn't have anything against Estonia; the bespectacled Nation just wasn't as openly caring as Lithuania was.

"Thank you, little Raivis. As a reward for your—delayed—cooperation, the experiment is over."

_Thank you. _As soon as Fletcher said this, his heart was poked one more time. Latvia wasn't prepared for this and let out one more shuddering gasp, falling into a semiconscious daze. He felt some pain when his ribs were glued back into place, and when the incision was sewed up, but his mind was somewhere else. Though he couldn't see well, he felt the restraints being undone, and being bandaged before being dressed in another, clean hospital gown. He could sense he was picked up by Fletcher and carried out of the room. He knew he had made it back to his and his friends' cell when a door was opened, and he was roughly tossed onto the floor, landing on his broken legs. He managed one more whimper and a scream before he passed out.

* * *

**And that's the end of this (horrifying) chapter. (I'm so sorry, Raivis! –Huggles him fiercely-)**

**Hopefully, it was disturbing, but not enough to give anyone nightmares. (If anyone does get nightmares from this, whoops, ^_^''.) **

**The next chapter will be about Iceland's, Sealand's, and Estonia's reactions to seeing Latvia after he's been experimented on. (It will mostly be Iceland-centric.) **

**I got all the procedural stuff from articles on autopsies. (I also dissected a cat in my AP Bio class two years ago, so I used my notes from that, too.)**

**Was this gruesome enough to be rated 'M', or should I change it back to 'T'?**

**See you next chapter! …Hopefully… **


	5. Chapter 04

**Welcome to Chapter Four! (In China, four is considered to be a bad number, because it is sounds similar to the word 'death'. However, after the last chapter, this one will seem like heaven, to Latvia…)**

**A big thank-you goes out to anyone who reviewed this, or added it to their favorites and alerts lists. It makes me happy to know that people like this story!**

**After the content of the last chapter, this one might seem boring. But it is Iceland-centric so, if you like him, you'll be happy with this chapter. (However, Estonia gets a little section starring him, too, XD.)**

**Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.**

* * *

**Chapter 04**

As soon as the scientist carelessly threw Latvia into their cell, a burning rage spread through Iceland's body. Though he didn't know exactly what had been done to the small blond, he knew it had to have been bad to cause the poor boy to scream for hours without stopping. He, Sealand, and Estonia had been forced to listen to the heartbreaking sound, and even though the bespectacled Nation covered his ears, he could still hear everything loud and clear.

Allowing the anger to consume him, Iceland stood up and ran at the tall man, wrapping his hands around his throat. However, before he could squeeze it, the man pried his hands aside and punched him in the jaw. Stunned, Iceland tumbled to the floor. Before he could get up, the man stepped on his chest, applying just enough pressure to make the silver-haired boy wince.

"I don't want to hurt you, Erikur," he said, his voice calm, but menacing. "I just came here to return _Latvia_. It was weaker than I thought."

Iceland's blood boiled when he heard the small Nation being addressed as an object.

"See? The stupid thing passed out, after only one experiment. I thought Nations were supposed to be better than that. No wonder no one knows where the hell Latvia is on a map, with this _mistake _personifying it."

The man lifted his foot off of Iceland and drew it back. Knowing exactly what was about to happen, the Nordic boy dragged himself in front of Latvia's unconscious form just as the scientist's foot swung forward. He coughed as his stomach was hit, but didn't make a sound. He rose to his hands and knees and leaned protectively over the youngest Baltic, his eyes narrowed. "Leave him alone."

"Fine, fine." The scientist shook his head, smiling. "I won't be back for it for awhile. I just need to see how its healing abilities work. There are cameras in here, so I won't have to be in this disgusting room more than I have to." The smile dropped off his face. "All of you will have your turns soon enough. I hope you prove to have more worth than _that_." He grimaced and gestured to Latvia. He was about to leave, but Estonia held up a hand.

"Who are you?"

"How rude of me; I forgot to introduce myself." The man smiled once more. "My name is Fletcher. Nice to meet you." With that, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room, locking the door behind him.

As soon as Fletcher was gone, everyone sprang into action. Iceland and Estonia nodded to each other and undid the ties on Latvia's hospital gown before gently flipping him onto his back.

The Nordic Nation noticed the obvious bruises on both of the small blond's legs, as well as how painfully swollen both limbs were. "They broke his legs. Both of them."

Estonia stiffened, his eyes burning with silent hatred.

"What's that?" Sealand asked, pointing to an obvious bloodstain on the front of Latvia's gown. Not waiting for an answer, he ran over to the tiny Nation and gently pulled the gown off. Oblivious to the fact that his friend was naked, he stopped, his eyes going wide when he looked at his bare chest.

Running over to the toilet that was thankfully in the room, Sealand vomited, then sank to the floor, sobbing, wrapping his arms tightly around himself.

Since the small micronation wasn't in the way anymore, Iceland could see what made the boy so distraught. A deep 'Y' was carved into Latvia's chest and torso, and blood leaked from it. It looked to be hastily sewed up, since the stitching was careless. When Iceland looked closer, he noticed that the area around his ribs was swollen, and that the incision itself was an angry red, the puffiness of it starting to spread.

"Raivis," Estonia choked, taking his glasses off to rub his watering eyes. "What have they done to you?"

Iceland's anger increased, and his clenched his fists so tightly that he drew blood. "Those bastards!" he spat.

"From the screaming we heard, he wasn't given any anesthetics." Estonia's voice sounded out-of-touch, and almost dreamlike. When Iceland looked at him, he noticed that the studious Nation looked to be in a daze. "He's only a child; why would someone put him through that?"

Looking as though he'd given up, Estonia let tears escape his eyes. "I promised to protect you," he rasped. "No one should have hurt you. Not again. But I'm weak. I failed. I'm sorry." By the end, his voice dropped to a whisper.

Iceland was shocked to see Estonia, who was normally so reserved, cry so emotionally. He was even more shocked to see Latvia's tiny hand shakily grasp the middle Baltic's.

Estonia gasped and reflexively tightened his grip on Latvia's hand.

"Ed…uard…"

Iceland could tell that it was extremely difficult for Latvia to speak.

A thin line of blood trailed from his mouth, and he coughed violently, spraying more over himself. "You're not…weak. All of this…my fault…not strong…enough." Another coughing fit overtook him. By the time it passed, the small Nation's eyes were filled with terror. "It hurts…please…make it stop! I'm so…scared! My heart…something wrong…my skin is…on fire! Eduard…Peter…Erikur…HELP! PLE—" His eyes glazed over, and he fell limp, his hand slipping out of Estonia's.

Iceland didn't notice that Sealand embraced him until he looked down to see the boy crying into his shirt. "It should have been me!" he sobbed. "I'm only a micronation; I don't matter. I'm not a real Nation, but Latvia is. He went through this to save me from it. It's not fair!"

Each word stabbed though Iceland's heart like tiny daggers. He knew how obsessed Sealand was with being acknowledged as a real Nation; hearing him belittle himself was heartbreaking.

"Shh," he found himself whispering, rubbing circles on the boy's back. "Of course you matter. I know what happened to Latvia is unfair, but you can help him."

"H-how?" Sealand looked up at the Nordic boy, his eyes overflowing with tears. "I'm smaller than he is!"

"Just be his friend," Iceland instructed. "Hold his hand when he screams, wipe his tears away when he cries. Just be there for him. He needs all the love and gentleness he can get, right now."

"R-right!" Sealand blinked, wiping his tears away. "I'll protect him; I'll be his hero." His voice darkened in tone. "If those bastards ever lay a hand on him again, I'll destroy them."

Iceland pulled the micronation closer to him, hugging him fiercely. "You're a good friend. Latvia is lucky to know you."

Sealand said nothing, only breaking down into tears once more.

/

Estonia could hear nothing, or see nothing, save Latvia's cries for help and his ruined body. Both of those images and sounds overtook his mind, playing over and over again like a broken record.

Unable to take it any more, the bespectacled Nation screamed, curling into the fetal position. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop the flow of tears escaping his eyes, or his body's involuntary trembling.

_What's happening to me? _

Suddenly, he felt two sets of arms surround him, one his size, and one smaller. Taken back to an earlier, yet just as terrifying era, he reflexively sighed, "Toris, Raivis. Thank you…"

Opening his eyes, the illusion of his two closest friends surrounding him shattered, and the reality shone through. Iceland was on one side of him, while Sealand was on the other. Though he was taller than the Nordic boy, he was slightly on his lap.

Embarrassed, Estonia shakily pulled away, crawling over to the opposite corner of the room. He hated losing his composure, and he hated looking weak even more. The only people he allowed to see his vulnerable side were Lithuania and Latvia, and that was only after he was beaten by Russia. He once let Finland see that side of him, right after the fall of the Soviet Union, but the kindhearted Nation got worried. Estonia didn't like it when people worried for him; he was the witty, star student. He could handle himself.

_Yes, I can handle myself. I don't need anybody. I work better when I'm alone. People only get in the way. They distract me with their ideas, and their pain. They mean nothing to me. Absolutely noth…_

No matter how many times Estonia tried convincing himself this, he knew it wasn't true. He cared for his citizens, and his friends, just like Nations like Lithuania or Finland. He had a heart, just like everyone else. And right now, that heart was breaking.

"Raivis!" he sobbed, crawling to his tortured friend. He longed to wrap his arms around him and never let him go, but he didn't want to rip the stitches. Instead, he gently pulled the small blond's head onto his lap and softly stroked his hair.

When Iceland and Sealand embraced him again, he didn't resist, allowing himself to be showered with soft touches and comforting words.

"Thank you," he whispered, smiling through his tears.

He allowed himself to relax, to regulate his breathing. However, he tensed up when he saw the door open slowly. Motioning for Iceland and Sealand to get behind him, he shakily got to his feet, ready to protect his friends at any cost.

* * *

**Ooh! Who do you think is at the door? (Haha, I'm so evil, ending this chapter at a cliffhanger, XDD.) **

**I am so nervous to post this one, since I've only written about Iceland once before, in a story. I hope he acted all right. (I see him as being quite protective to those he cares about, since Norway, his brother, seems very protective, too.) **

**Wow, poor Estonia. (That was intense for me to write!) I hope his reactions to Latvia's torture, Iceland and Sealand trying to comfort him, etc. were in-character. (I hope his inner monologue was, too.) **

**I actually like how this part of the chapter turned out. (I love writing about Estonia, for some reason, XD. **

**See you next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 05

**Welcome to the fifth chapter of this story! (Five is one of my lucky numbers. In the first section of this chapter, everyone will have some good luck, as well. However, it won't last for too long…)**

**A big thank-you goes out to everyone who reviewed, or added this to their favorites/alerts list.**

…**Yeah, I really don't have much to say, for this A/N…**

**Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.**

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**Chapter 05**

Estonia gritted his teeth and stood in front of his friends, tensing as the door opened. He was ready to lunge at Fletcher, whom he assumed would be entering the room; he clenched his fists and balanced on the balls of his feet. He tilted his head in surprise when a meek-looking woman entered instead, softly closing the door behind her.

"Fletcher told me not to interfere, but I can't help it. Based on the video feed, Raivis is in a lot of pain. It's inhumane to let him suffer like this!"

Though his mind was telling him to be suspicious, Estonia trusted his gut instead, and relaxed. "Who are you?"

"Katya Tegleva." She held out a hand to shake. "It's an honor to meet you, Eduard, er, Estonia, though I wish it were under better circumstances."

Already used to Fletcher treating him and the others like objects, the respect surprised him.

"You're surprised I'm treating you this kindly?" Katya grimly smiled. "I'm sorry that you aren't given the respect you deserve. Not just as Nations, but as living beings." She knelt down next to Latvia's limp form, her eyes narrowing. "Poor child," she murmured, softly stroking his bloodstained hair. A new determination in her eyes, she studied the small blond's injuries, being extra careful when she touched the area around the incision and his legs. Despite her gentleness, Latvia still cried out once or twice, making Estonia inwardly wince.

After awhile, Katya stood up, wiping her bloodstained hands on her lab coat. "I know it's only been a short time since Raivis was experimented on, but the incision seems to be infected. Fletcher probably didn't bother sterilizing his equipment before using it. He wasn't even sewn up properly." She shook her head sadly.

"What can be done about that?" Iceland inquired. "As you probably already know, Nations heal more rapidly than humans do. However, an incredible amount of damage has been done to Latvia." He paused to take a breath, and Estonia could see the anger in his eyes. "When a Nation receives a large amount of trauma, their healing rate slows, especially if the damage had been done to their vital organs. I don't know exactly what happened to Latvia, but if he has an infection, it will definitely slow the healing process." By the end of his explanation, the silver-haired Nation's discreet anger was made obvious.

Katya closed her eyes. "I wasn't there personally; I refuse to take part in Fletcher's barbaric procedures. But I did see a video recording of it. Do you three really want to know what happened?"

Estonia looked at Iceland and Sealand. The former had his eyes narrowed and his mouth in a grim line, while the latter just stared at the woman, his eyes wide. Though he was scared to know what exactly happened to Latvia, he knew that the information would be useful later. "Yes," he said, his stomach churning.

"Very well," stated Katya. "I won't give you all the details—there is a little one present, after all—but I will tell you enough so that you'll get the basic concept of the experiment."

All three boys nodded, almost numbly. Estonia looked at Sealand, expecting him to complain about being called 'little'. Instead, the micronation wrung his hands, looking at Latvia's limp body.

"You three know what autopsies are, correct?"

Ice filled Estonia's veins when he realized where this was going. He mechanically nodded.

"Well, Fletcher basically treated Raivis, er, Latvia, like a corpse, meaning no anesthesia was used. He cut him open and studied his heart and lungs. Nothing was removed except for his ribs, but those were put back before the incision was sewed up. That's probably—"

Iceland cut her off, holding a hand up. "His _ribs _were removed, and he was treated like a dead body?" he snapped. "No one even gave him anything to stop the pain? What kind of sick people are you?"

Katya sat down, obvious pain in her eyes. "I know. I never wanted to be a part of this. I am a scientist, not an interrogator; I want to help people, not hurt them."

"Then why are you here?" Sealand asked, tilting his head. "You seem like a nice lady."

Katya stiffened, fear replacing the sadness in her eyes. "I'm s-sorry," she stammered. "I… I can't say."

Estonia could see that the woman was obviously distressed, so he changed the subject. "Can you do anything to help Latvia?"

The determination was back in the scientist's eyes. She leaned over until her mouth met the bespectacled boy's ear. "If I am able to, I will bring him some medicine later; I'll try to sneak it out of Fletcher's lab," she whispered. "I'll also bring him some underwear; he's bound to be cold the way he is right now."

Eying the camera that was on the opposite wall, he decided to put on an act, to protect Katya. "Really?" He changed his facial expression to one of despair. "There's nothing you can do?"

Slightly nodded, Katya played along. "I'm sorry, Eduard, but Raivis will have to heal on his own."

"But, you—" Iceland, who also picked up on everything, silenced Sealand with a glare. He was about to say something, only to be interrupted by the door slamming open.

"Tegleva!" Fletcher barked. "I told you not to interfere!"

"I wouldn't have, but you tortured the poor boy!" Katya shot back.

"Sacrifices must be made, dear Katya. And besides," he narrowed his eyes, "that's not a boy. It's an unnatural creature whose existence should be impossible."

"How can you say that? I wasn't even at your…experiment…but I saw the video feed of it, since you forced me to watch it. Everything about this boy seemed 'human' to me, minus the fact that he is cursed with being unable to die. I will not stand for the cruel torture of a child!"

Lunging forward, Fletcher grabbed the front of Katya's coat and slapped her across the face. Sealand whimpered and wrapped his arms around Iceland.

"Careful, Tegleva," the man said, his voice calm, but menacing. "You don't want little Tatiana to be on my table, do you?"

"No!" Katya choked, shaking. "Leave her out of this!"

"I will, this time. However, the next time you disobey me…"

"Right." Katya nodded, allowing herself to be guided out of them room. "I'm sorry, boys. I'm so sorry."

"I'll be back in a few days to see how little Raivis is doing. I hope it doesn't make too much of a mess." Smirking, Fletcher closed and locked the door.

Once he was sure the man was gone, Estonia allowed himself to sink to the floor.

Sealand let go of Iceland and approached him. "She's not coming back." This wasn't a question.

"No." Estonia brought his knees to his chest and rested his head on them. _Now Raivis really will have to heal on his own. _

He sensed Iceland move next to him, and he turned to the boy.

"We should really get some rest," the Nordic Nation explained. "I don't know how long things will continue to be peaceful."

Estonia nodded. "Good idea."

Iceland moved aside, allowing the bespectacled boy to lie down. He felt some warmth on his chest, and looked down to see Sealand curled up against him, his tiny arms wrapping around him.

Reminded of how Latvia embraced him when they shared a bed during the Soviet Union, he said nothing, allowing the micronation to continue snuggling into his chest. The extra warmth was also making him tired; he found his eyes closing. The last thing he sensed was Iceland curling up next to his other side.

For the second time this night (or day; he wasn't sure exactly what time it was), Estonia awoke to screaming. Bolting upright, he turned to Latvia, who was no longer unconscious.

"I'm sorry!" the tiny Nation choked, tears streaming down his face.

Estonia and the others were quickly at his side. "Sorry for what?" he asked.

Latvia's response was frantic, and in a language that the middle Baltic could not understand. When he finally started speaking English again, his sentences were short, and it sounded like it hurt him to even talk. "P-please, Eduard! Make it stop! Please!" He stopped speaking for awhile; the only sounds he made were choked sobs and pained gasps. "My heart!" he finally said. "It's…not...beating right! Hurts….to breathe!" His eyes wild, he turned his head towards Estonia. "Eduard!" he shouted, his voice strangled and animalistic. "KILL ME!"

After that, Latvia spoke no more, though violent coughing wracked his body, blood leaking from his mouth.

_Raivis! _Estonia resisted the urge to embrace him; he didn't want to damage the crude stitching. Instead, he grabbed onto the younger boy's hand. Immediately dropping it, his eyes widened at a startling realization. "He's burning up!" Gently pressing a hand against his friend's forehead, he confirmed his suspicion. "He has a fever."

After another bout of coughing and thrashing, Latvia fell limp once more, his head lolling to the side.

Flipping the boy onto his back, Estonia noticed that a few of the stitches ripped. "Oh no."

"What?" asked Iceland.

"Look." Estonia pointed at Latvia's right shoulder. "Some of the stitches came undone."

Iceland nodded, wrinkling his nose at the sight of the open wound, his eyes watching a trail of blood slither down Latvia's pale chest.

Suddenly, the Nordic boy embraced Estonia fiercely, stunning him.

"I'm sorry." Iceland blushed and pulled away. "I'm just…"

Remembering his breakdown earlier in the night (day?), he nodded in understanding, placing a hand on the silver-haired Nation's shoulder. "I know."

"I wish Papa was here," Sealand said quietly, sounding like a much younger child. "He knows how to sew; he could fix Latvia."

Estonia nodded, not wanting to break it to the boy that re-stitching Latvia wouldn't fix everything. Instead, he allowed the micronation to embrace him once more. He rubbed circles onto his back until he was asleep. Closing his eyes, he willed his mind to rest. After a few minutes, unconsciousness overtook him.

* * *

**And that's the end of this chapter. This took forever to write! (Something about this chapter seems a bit off, but maybe that's just me being self-conscious about my writing…)**

**I know it was sort of a filler chapter, but I needed to introduce Katya. **

**Speaking of Katya, she'll appear more. You'll find out more about her, later. **

**Poor, poor Latvia; even in a 'peaceful' chapter, I never give the guy a break.**

…**In my head-canon, Sweden knows how to sew, and is very skilled at it, XDD. (I am strange…)**

**See you next chapter! C: **


	7. Chapter 06

**Welcome to Chapter Six!**

**I'm sorry for the late update; I was busy last week. Plus, I finished another chapter of Round and Round. **

**This chapter will be a little longer than the previous one. **

**Many thanks go to everyone who reviewed and/or added this story to their favorites or alerts list.  
A special thank-you goes to Don'tDreamItBeIt! Thanks for your wonderful review; it actually made me stop being lazy and write this chapter, XDD. **

**Yeah… I really don't have anything else to put here…**

**Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya**

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**Chapter 06**

_Latvia found himself back on Fletcher's cold table, his skin being painfully ripped open again. With each shriek, Fletcher dug the scalpel in deeper and peeled the skin and muscles back more forcefully than before. _

_ "Stop it!" Latvia cried, his tears mixing with the blood pouring from his body. "I already told you where everyone lives!"_

_ "I know that." The cold scientist chuckled and brought the knife closer to the boy's face. "I'm just doing this for fun."_

_ Without any warning, he stabbed it into Latvia's vulnerable eye, causing him to scream even louder and shake more severely. He felt something tear, and used his visible eye to see what happened. Fletcher presented him with his eyeball skewered by the scalpel, still dripping with blood._

_ "What lovely blue eyes you have, Raivis, so pale and innocent. I can't help but want them." He popped it into his mouth. After he swallowed, he brought his face near Latvia's. "That was so delicious; I just might want another."_

_ Resisting the urge to vomit, Latvia somehow broke through the restraints. "NO!" he screamed repeatedly, clawing at Fletcher's face, making sure to dig his nails in deep enough to draw blood. "Leave me alone!" _

Suddenly, Latvia found himself with both of his eyes, staring not at Fletcher's deranged face, but Estonia's terrified one. Blood oozed out of deep scratches, and he looked down at his hands, which were also covered in the sticky substance. _Eduard's blood. _I _did this to him!_

"I'm a monster!" he choked, dragging himself away from his friends. He didn't care that his legs and chest burned with each movement, and his heart beat painfully and erratically. He just wanted to curl up in a corner and die, though he knew that it was an impossible dream.

He made it to the darkest part of the room before slipping into another feverish dream.

/

Estonia held his wounded face, still shocked at what happened. Latvia had been silent for two days, not moving. He heard the boy stir, so he leaned over him to see if he needed anything. He was met with animalistic screams tearing from his friend's throat, his eyes wild. Before he could even comprehend what was going on, Latvia's hands grabbed his face, his nails digging into his soft skin. Reflexively crying out, he harshly grabbed the small Nation's hands and slapped him across the face. _I'm so sorry._

After the action, Latvia's eyes widened in horror, finally realizing what he had done. "I'm a monster!" Before Estonia could comfort him, he dragged himself to the other side of the room before passing out again.

Iceland and Sealand, who witnessed the entire ordeal, looked sympathetically at Estonia, then Latvia.

"He's getting worse," the Nordic boy finally stated. "He's having delusions."

The bespectacled Nation nodded grimly. "I know."

Suddenly, the door opened, and a plate of food was tossed in, followed by a small jug of water.

"Food!" cried Sealand.

"Stop!" Estonia grabbed the plate before the micronation could dig in. "We have to divide it, first. Who knows when we'll be fed again."

"This is unrelated to the food, but we also have do something about your face; I don't want the scratches to get infected," stated Iceland. He looked around the room until he found what he was looking for. "Ah, look! A sink. We can use it to wash your face. I'm glad we won't have to settle for the toilet."

Estonia grimaced at the thought. "Forget about me, at the moment. My face feels fine. Let's just divide the food." This was a lie; in reality, his face was throbbing, and all he wanted to do was sleep. But he knew that, in terms of importance, self-pity and care were at the bottom of the list. He was going to make sure the others got through this horrendous ordeal with their sanity intact, even if it cost him his own.

He looked at Latvia, his eyes softening. _His mind is already starting to deteriorate. There must be something I can do!_

But as the day went on, and the youngest Baltic's skin got hotter and hotter and his voice got weaker and weaker, he realized that hoping was futile. _They've damaged him; I don't think he will ever be the same. _He held the boy's limp head in his lap when the delusions started again, stroking his hair and singing to him softly, waiting for the heartbreaking cries and pleading in Latvian to cease. Though they didn't get as violent as the first one, they were equally disturbing to witness.

While Latvia was still conscious, Sealand tiptoed over to him and tried to pour some water down his throat. The kind gesture backfired when he coughed it back up, along with blood. The micronation took off his hospital gown and gently wiped the boy's face and chest.

"He looks so small, smaller than me," he muttered, more to himself than to his two companions.

/

The next day, Sealand made it his duty to watch Latvia constantly, sitting by him for hours. Though he was younger than the frail boy, he felt protective instincts towards him surge through his veins. _They'll pay. They'll pay for doing this to him._

Though the micronation was only a child, he wasn't as immature and oblivious as most thought he was. As soon as Latvia stood up to take his place, he knew that he was basically giving up his life for him, at least in the metaphorical sense. He saw the way Fletcher looked at his friend, and was disgusted by the way his eyes travelled up and down his thin body, as though he was already planning where he'd hurt him. Knowing that he could have been the one on the floor, half-dead and bleeding, was something that he knew would haunt him forever.

"Peter," Iceland sighed, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You've been sitting there all day. You should do something else."

"Like what?" Though the Nordic Nation was the closest thing he had to a brother, here, he was starting to get annoyed with him. "We're trapped in here; there's nothing to do."

"Why don't you look around the room with Estonia; you might find something that could help Latvia."

"But—"

Iceland's voice was firm. "You'll know if he wakes up; we're in the same room. Help Estonia."

Grumbling under his breath, Sealand finally got up and walked to the other side of the room. Since he wasn't watching where he was going, he found himself walking straight into Estonia's chest. Not wanting to fall, he wrapped his arms around the older boy.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. He was about to let go, but he noticed something. _He smells like Mama, er, Tino. _He knew how much Finland didn't like being called that, so he corrected himself in his mind. Forgetting where he was for a second, he leaned against Estonia, pretending that he was embracing his 'mother'. He didn't realize that he was crying until the bespectacled Nation gently rubbed his back.

"Mama!" he sobbed. "Why can't you help him?"

As soon as his 'mother' started speaking to him, he realized that he just made a fool of himself. "I'm so sorry, Estonia!" He quickly pulled away, rubbing his eyes.

When he looked at the older boy, his navy eyes were pools of sadness. "It's all right. I miss him too."

Letting the subject drop (he was a strong country, after all, yes he was), Sealand instead turned to a tall cabinet he never noticed before. "Let's see what's in here."

Estonia looked like he wanted to say something, but at the last minute decided not to. When he finally spoke, his words sounded strained, his accent more prominent. "It's worth a look."

Sealand tested the handle, expecting it to be locked. He nearly gasped in surprise when he found that it wasn't. Throwing the door open, he was met with…nothing. Only empty shelves. At least, the lower ones were empty; he couldn't tell if there was anything on the ones that were taller than he was.

"I see something," said Estonia, looking at the top shelf. Standing on his tiptoes, he grabbed a small, white box. "What is this?"

Sitting on the ground, he opened it. He narrowed his eyes, then grimly smiled. "Iceland? I found a first aid kit."

In the blink of an eye, the Nordic boy was at his side. "Is there anything to lessen Latvia's pain?" He scanned the kit, sighing in disappointment. "It looks to be all bandages, a pair of scissors, a couple needles, a lot of thread, and a washcloth."

"All of that can be very important later," Estonia pointed out.

Iceland nodded. "You're right."

He was about to say something else, but was interrupted by a shrill scream.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE, YOU BASTARDS! TOUCH HIM AGAIN, AND I'LL SLASH YOUR THROATS WITH YOUR OWN SCALPELS!"

Sealand was shocked to hear such an angry tone come out of Latvia's mouth. He looked towards his friend and saw that his arm was stretched out, his hand grabbing at nothing.

"Stop it!" The screams turned into hysterical sobbing. "Please, let him go; he didn't do anything to you! This is all my fault; I made that comment! Just don't hurt him anymore!"

He began to thrash around violently, his body twisting painfully. "Nē!" he screamed. "Eduard!" He forced himself to sit, blood streaming like little rivers down his chest. His eyes were widened and frightened, though they still remained beautiful. "There's so much fire," he muttered, grabbing at his hair. "Make it stop. I'm begging you, Mr. Fletcher!" His voice rose an octave, and he continued to scream. "Lūdzu! Lūdzu! Stop! You're killing him! You're—"

Another violent coughing fit overtook him, and he fell back, finally going silent. His eyes closed, and his body went limp.

"Raivis?" Sealand felt like his entire world was falling apart. Not able to help himself, he ran to Latvia and laid down next to his limp body, crying into his chest. He didn't care about the blood he knew was covering his face; all he wanted to do was be close to his best friend, to feel his heartbeat.

When he finally pulled away, he noticed something alarming. "His stitches came undone."

/

As soon as Sealand said those words, Estonia was pretty sure his heart stopped. Almost in a daze, he sat down next to the micronation, gently flipping Latvia onto his back.

"You're right." The bespectacled Nation thought this latest delusion was bad enough, but this discovery made it worse.

"Iceland," he instructed, trying to keep the panic out of his voice, "bring me the first aid kit."

The silver-haired boy nodded and did what he was told.

Gulping, Estonia forced his shaking hands to thread the needle and bend it into a 'C' shape. _Think, Eduard. Remember how Toris did it. _He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to recall how the eldest Baltic sewed up their wounds during the Soviet era.

When he finally composed himself, he spoke. "Iceland, hold his arms down. Sealand, sit on his legs."

"But they're broken; I don't want to hurt him!" Sealand stared at him, his face looking older with all the blood covering it.

"If he regains consciousness, and you've got all your weight on his legs, he'll hurt so much he'll pass out again. I do _not _want him awake for this."

"But—"

"Peter! Shut up and do it!" Instantly appalled by his own behavior, Estonia cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. Please, just listen to me. This will hurt him so, so much if he is awake. I don't want him to cry. Not again. I can't…I can't deal with seeing him like this anymore."

Sealand slowly nodded. He shakily did what he was told, though he muttered, "I'm so sorry, Raivis," over and over again.

Iceland grabbed the youngest Baltic's limp arms, and Estonia closed his eyes, silently begging a higher power (though he wasn't sure one existed) to keep Latvia unconscious the entire time.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly slid the needle into the small blond's flesh, beginning the difficult task.

It took a few hours, but Estonia managed to re-stitch the entire incision without any interruptions. When he was finished, his sewing hand ached, as well as his eyes. However, one look at Latvia made it worth it. The stitching was now much neater, and less blood was leaking from the incision. The tiny Nation's face even looked a bit more peaceful, though it was still filled with pain.

Since he trusted the new stitches to hold better, he finally allowed himself to pull his friend onto his lap, gently embracing him. "Kunagi loobuda," he whispered, kissing his forehead. "Never give up, Raivis." Though his latest delusion disturbed him greatly, it showed him that the small blond still had some spirit.

Still embracing Latvia, he laid down, allowing sleep to overtake him. The last thing he felt was the smaller boy's tiny hand grabbing his own.

/

Fletcher, Crowley, and Schramm watched the live video feed, laughing.

"Oh, this is too great!" Schramm exclaimed, smirking. "These four are too much!"

Fletcher nodded. "Raivis in particular is an interesting subject."

"I know! Hearing him try to be the hero during his silly delusions is hilarious! I almost want you to cut him open again, to see his reaction!"

"I have a better idea." Fletcher narrowed his eyes. He whispered it to both of his colleagues, his voice giddy with excitement.

"Perfect, just perfect!" Schramm laughed again, shaking his head. "The brat won't even know that he _gave _you this idea!"

"You are obsessed with that boy," Crowley observed. After a moment of pause, he continued. "I don't care what you do to him, as long as our goal is achieved. The same goes for the others."

Taking that as approval, Fletcher laughed, the sound of it making Schramm wince. "Perfect." Looking at the sleeping forms of his victims, he licked his lips. "They'll never see it coming."

Crowley nodded. "Once again, do whatever you want; I don't care, but wasn't I called here for a reason?"

"Yes," stated Fletcher. "I need you to get five people to deliver these to some…friends." He held up five disks and gave them to his boss.

Crowley looked at the names hastily scrawled on them. "Berwald Oxenstierna, Alfred F. Jones, Ivan Braginski, Arthur Kirkland, and Toris Laurinaitis?"

"Correct. Can you get these delivered by tomorrow?"

"That depends, Mr. Fletcher. What are they?"

Fletcher smirked once more. "Phase Two."

* * *

**Ooh, what do you think 'Phase Two' is?**

…**Poor, poor Raivis. –Huggles him- (His delusions were so disturbing to write! Especially the part where he clawed Estonia's face.)**

**I realized that I never wrote a section of a chapter focusing on Sealand yet, so I fixed that, in this chapter. (I hope he was written okay…)**

**A note: In my head-canon, Nations have distinct scents. I picture Finland and Estonia smelling similar because their languages are similar. (This goes for Hungary as well, since her language is also part of the Finno-Ugric branch…) **

**The first-aid kit will come in handy later.**

**Fletcher is such a bastard, isn't he?**

**Translations:  
Nē: No (Latvian)  
Lūdzu: Please (Latvian)  
Kunagi loobuda: Never give up (Estonian)-I hope this one is right... (Sadly, I used Google Translate for it. However, I triple checked it, so it seems to be legit.)  
**

**See you next chapter! C: **


	8. Chapter 07

**Welcome to Chapter Seven! This one will be a lot longer than the others.**

**This chapter will get pretty dark. (It won't be as gruesome as Chapter Three, but it will get pretty close to that level.)**

**A big-thank you goes out to everyone who reviewed this story or added it to their favorites/alerts list. You're all awesome! C:**

***Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya***

* * *

**Chapter 07**

America awoke to the sound of his doorbell ringing. Groggily rubbing his eyes, he threw on his glasses and looked at the clock on his nightstand. _Three A.M.? I swear, if England's at my door drunk again, I'm going to slap him. _He was tempted to ignore the noise and go back to sleep, but it rang a second time. _I'm coming, I'm coming._

Sleepily walking down the stairs, he scratched his head before opening the door. Though it was warm outside, something made him shiver. He rubbed his eyes once more before looking around. He tilted his head when he realized that no one was there.

"England?" he called. Trying again, this time he said, "Canada? Are you trying to be funny? I thought you hated it when people think you're invisible."

Again, there was no response. It was only when he looked down that he saw the package. Puzzled, he picked it up and walked back inside. _What's this? _

Now more awake thanks to his curiosity, he turned on the kitchen light and looked at the mysterious package. It was white and had nothing on it, save his human name, which was hastily scrawled in black ink. Narrowing his eyes, he grabbed a knife and carefully sliced open the box. Inside it was what looked to be a CD or a DVD in a case, along with a note. Pulling both out, he unfolded the note and read it, noticing that it was typed instead of handwritten.

**Dear Mr. Alfred F. Jones, aka the United States of America,**

** My colleagues and I thought you would want to watch this; we spent a lot of time making it the best it can be. The sound and video quality are top-notch, and the star of this little show puts on an amazing performance. We hope that you enjoy this, since there will be a lot more where this came from.**

There was no signature, causing the American to tilt his head once more. _Is this a joke? _Suddenly, his eyes snapped completely open, and he smiled. _Oh! This must be the footage from England's birthday party last year! Sweet! I can't wait to watch this; it'll be great blackmail material! _

Now completely awake, he eagerly popped the DVD into the player and pressed 'play', excited to watch his former mentor make a fool of himself. However, as the video started, the smile slipped off his face, a look of horror replacing it.

Instead of a drunk England's antics, the camera focused on a boy who was naked and bound to a lab table. As it zoomed in on his face and torso, his stomach churned when he realized who he was.

_Latvia? _Since America was good friends with Lithuania, he saw the youngest Baltic often, since he hung around with them. America, having a soft spot for children, didn't mind the younger boy tagging along, and actually welcomed his company. The boy was extremely skittish for someone his age, but America chalked that up to being under Russia's control for so long.

Caught up in past thoughts, he almost missed the scalpel sinking into Latvia's shoulder, causing the boy to scream shrilly.

_What? _The nauseous feeling in his stomach growing, he grabbed a pillow and brought it to his chest, forcing himself to watch the rest of the video.

As it went on, he witnessed Latvia's skin and muscles being cut open and peeled back, exposing his ribs. With every scream, America's heart was breaking. The look on Latvia's face was one of pure pain and fear, and the older Nation wanted nothing more than to reach into the TV and pull him to safety.

As soon as the bone saw cut through Latvia's ribs, America looked away, closing his eyes. He couldn't see anything, but the screams told him exactly what was going on. He looked back at the screen when he heard the tiny Nation hyperventilate.

Morbidly fascinated by how he could see Latvia's heart beating, he leaned a bit closer to the television, only to jump backwards when the lead scientist jabbed the organ, eliciting an animalistic scream from the boy.

"Stop it!" America pleaded out loud, though he knew nothing he did or said would help. Tears formed in his eyes when the man kept poking his heart, then pressing down on his lungs.

He ignored what the scientist was saying, instead trying to kill him with his mind. However, he turned back to the video when Latvia spoke, the agony in his voice obvious.

_"I'll tell you who and where everyone is!" he cried, his voice now barely above a whisper. "Please, don't cut my heart out. Please!"_

_"That's a good boy." the man softly stroked the small blond's hair, coating it with his blood. "America?"_

_"Alfred F. Jones. He lives in New York City."_

_"Russia?"_

_"Ivan Braginski. St. Petersburg."_

_"Sweden?"_

_"Berwald Oxenstierna. Stockholm."_

America's fists clenched with every name. The way Latvia's voice sounded hurt his heart. _No one his age should ever sound like that! _When Lithuania's name was mentioned, the look on Latvia's face was just so pitiful that tears actually escaped from the American's eyes.

He covered his mouth when the small Nation's heart was poked one more time, causing his eyes to glaze over. Suddenly, the video went black, white letters appearing on the screen.

**Wasn't that fun, America? That was only one experiment of ours; there are three others with this piece of trash, and countless tests to run on each of them. Little Raivis is our favorite so far, though; it's so small and fun to break. We look forward to sending you more of our work. **

After that, the screen went completely black. Not bothering to turn off the DVD player, America ran to the bathroom and retched into the toilet. The images of Latvia's face twisted in pain and his mutilated body were seared into his mind, appearing every time he blinked.

Stumbling into the kitchen, he noted that the clock on his microwave blinked '5:00'. _That video was two hours? Latvia was tortured for two hours straight? _The thought of the boy being in severe pain for that long made his stomach twist again.

Before he knew what he was doing, he grabbed his phone and dialed a familiar number. After three rings, he got an answer.

"Hello?"

"England?" He hated that his voice came out sounding scared, but he couldn't help it. This was worse than any horror movie he'd ever watched.

"America? Why are you calling so early? I know it's ten o'clock over here, but it must be around five where you are!"

Taking a deep breath, America bitterly accounted what he just watched.

/

It would be a lie to say that England wasn't surprised when he picked up his phone and heard America's voice on the other end. His former colony almost never called him, and when he did, it was to mock him about something. However, this time, he seemed on-edge. Almost…frightened.

When he asked the boy why he was calling, he was met with an answer he never expected: a fellow Nation, one of their own, had been captured and tortured. What made it even worse was that said Nation was Latvia, who took a very young human form.

"The video was two hours long, Arthur." It sounded like America was crying. "They cut him open and messed with his insides. He…he wouldn't stop screaming. I know he's a lot older than he looks, but he still has the mentality of a child!"

Acting on a hunch, he brought his phone with him as he walked to the front of his house. Sure enough, a little white package sat just below the mail slot on his door.

"I got a package, too." England's mouth felt dry, and he tapped his foot anxiously. "Do you want me to watch it?"

"Oh, God, Arthur, it's awful! I almost want to say no, but you should watch it to know exactly what I'm talking about. Plus, there might also be a message specifically for you, like there was at the end of mine. It also says that three others were taken, besides Latvia."

His heart sinking, England picked up the box and set it on his table. _Three others?_

He nearly jumped when America spoke again. "Just make sure little Peter isn't around to watch it; he and Latvia are best friends, remember? This would haunt him forever!"

"Sealand isn't here, Alfred; he's with Sweden, remember? He left a few days ago."

"Oh, that's good. I'm sorry, Artie, but I gotta go. I feel like I'm gonna puke again."

Before England could say goodbye, America hung up. Sighing, he picked up the package. He was about to open it, but the phone rang again. "Hello?"

"England?" Finland asked frantically. "Is Peter with you?"

England's blood ran cold.

/

After talking with England, Finland couldn't hold back his tears any longer. Holding his head in his hands, he cried. He felt Sweden embrace him, but didn't react to it.

"He's with little Raivis!" he sobbed. "I just know it!" Finland hated feeling this weak, but after seeing his adoptive son's best friend being so brutally tortured, he was drained.

"We'll fin' him." Sweden's voice was hard. "They'll pay f'r what they did t' Latvia. If I find 'em, they'll wish they'd nev'r been born."

Finland blinked, confused as to why his partner's voice sounded so protective of Latvia. Then it dawned on him: once, a very, very long time ago, the Nordic giant had custody of the small Nation and Estonia for half the year, while Poland and Lithuania took them for the other half.

Slowly nodding, Finland allowed Sweden to wipe his tears away.

/

"Liet! Stop it!"

Poland's voice did nothing to stop Lithuania from digging his nails into his arms, causing them to bleed. However, the blond Nation slapping him across the face did. Letting his arms drop to his sides, Lithuania hung his head and cried. Poland embraced him, and the brunet returned it, feeling a bit bad that he got blood all over the back of his friend's new shirt.

"Dievas!" he yelled, tightly grabbing Poland's shirt. "Why Raivis, of all people?"

"Liet, I know that was totally disgusting to watch, but you need to, like, calm down. Doing this to yourself won't help Latvia at all."

"And Eduard."

"Huh?"

"Feliks, that note at the end of the video says that they took three others, besides Raivis. Eduard was supposed to visit me yesterday, but he never showed up. I tried calling him, and even emailing him, but he didn't respond. That's not like him!"

Lithuania let go of Poland and clenched his fists, reimagining the video. "They called him a piece of trash and an 'it'. Raivis is an object to these people; it's disgusting! And did you see how the head scientist was looking at him? Feliks, what if they molest him, or worse? They seem like they want to take everything from him!"

Sobs wracked his body as he thought of his precious friend being touched in such a disgusting manner.

"Shh, Liet, it's all right." Poland pulled his friend into another embrace, gently running his hands through his wavy hair. "If Estonia's there with him, he'd, like, make sure that won't happen."

"Then why was he on that table? Why was he cut open like a corpse and treated like someone's property?"

"They're both children, Toris!" Poland finally exploded, tightly gripping his friend's shoulders. "I know you're, like, scared for Latvia and all, but don't blame Estonia! I'm sure he's doing the best he can. What if he was also tortured, but they, like, sent the video of Latvia because he's younger?"

"You're right." He cursed himself for ever blaming Latvia's condition on the middle Baltic. He was sickened that the thought even appeared in his mind. The image of the bespectacled Nation on a lab table, his eyes filled with terror and agony flashed across his eyes, and he stiffened. _Eduard, forgive me for blaming you. _Sometimes he forgot how young the Estonian was.

His phone ringing snapped him out of his thoughts. Desperately hoping that they were wrong, and that it was Estonia apologizing for being late, or crying about the video, he picked it up. "Hello?"

"_Litva_?"

Shocked, Lithuania almost dropped the phone. "Mr. Russia?"

"Da." Something about his voice was…off. It sounded raspy, and almost tear-filled.

"You didn't happen to get a video showing little _Latviya _being…experimented on…did you?"

As soon as the large Nation finished his sentence, the horrible video replayed in his mind. "Yes," he finally said.

"His screams were different."

"What?" Lithuania did not even want to think about the noises he heard on the video.

Russia's voice sounded distant and dazed. "When I would play with him back when we all lived together, his screams were like pretty music, to me. Now, they sound horrible. I don't like it; my _Latviya _is supposed to have a beautiful voice…"

Lithuania didn't know what to say to that; he had no idea whether to be angry that the cold Nation constantly abused him, Estonia, and Latvia during the Soviet Union era, or sad that Russia sounded almost…heartbroken.

"Why would they hurt him, _Litva_? They are not Nations; they do not control his land or his body, nor do they have anything to gain from this. According to the note after the video, they have more of a problem with me than with _Latviya_."

_He's trying to justify hurting us back then. _Though the brunet didn't like it, he knew his former tormentor was right. "I know."

"I saw his heart, _Litva_." The large man's voice was shaking, and Lithuania suspected that he was crying, a fact that unnerved him greatly. "It was so small. I could crush it in my hand, if I wanted to." He took a shaky breath. "But he's strong; he refused to give in until the very end. I am so proud of my little sunflower." Now, it was obvious that he was crying.

"Mr. Russia? Do you want to come over?" Lithuania ignored Poland, who was frantically shaking his head and mouthing 'no'.

"You would let me? After how I treated you all those years ago?"

"We live forever. It would be stupid to hold a grudge for that long." This was only partially true. Lithuania still felt some resentment towards Russia, but after both countries signed an agreement in 2020, relations between the two of them were improving.

"Thank you. I will be over as soon as I can."

The call ended, and Lithuania put the phone down, sinking into the couch.

"Why would you invite him over? Totally not cool," Poland grumbled.

"We need to work together, if we want to get Latvia back," the brunet responded, his voice getting stronger. "Petty squabbles aren't worth sacrificing his safety and sanity."

The blond sighed, flipping his hair. "I guess you're right. I don't like it, though. Not at all." He flopped down on the couch next to Lithuania, who rested his head on his shoulder. "So, what do we do now?"

Lithuania's eyes narrowed. "We wait."

/

Estonia awoke to the sound of the cell's door slamming open.

"All right you brats, get your pathetic asses up!"

The bespectacled Nation quickly sat up, holding Latvia protectively to his chest. He looked up and saw Fletcher and a shorter, gruffer-looking scientist standing just inside the room. He turned his head slightly, and saw little Sealand hiding behind Iceland.

Suddenly, Latvia was ripped from his arms and tossed harshly to the ground. Before Estonia knew it, he was grabbed by Fletcher and dragged to the door. He saw that the other scientist had Sealand's hair in a tight grip, and that the boy looked sick.

Before they were marched out of the room, Estonia looked back and saw Iceland's eyes widen. But what really broke his heart was Latvia, who had woken up, mouthing his name over and over again, tears streaming down his face.

"Move," Fletcher commanded, and Estonia complied. He was forced to walk to the right, while Sealand and the other scientist went in the opposite direction. Before he knew it, he was pushed into a room that smelled like blood.

Gulping, Estonia cursed how his legs were shaking.

"Strip."

"W-what?" He hated himself for stammering even more than shaking.

"You can't wear your gown and underwear for this experiment. Now take them off before I do."

The Estonian nodded, quickly doing what he was told. He did not want Fletcher's hands anywhere near his nether regions, and shuddered at the mere thought. Once his clothing was on the ground, he looked at the other man coldly.

"Since you weigh more than tiny Raivis, I don't think I can put you on the table myself. Would you be as so kind as to climb onto it?"

_Oh _hell _no_. Noticing that he was free, Estonia took the chance and ran for the door. When he tried opening it, he found that it was locked. _Damn it!_

Before he could even turn around, Fletcher's body slammed into him, pinning him against the door.

"I thought you were the good boy, Eduard." The scientist's breath was hot on his neck, making Estonia very uncomfortable. "I guess I was wrong."

Fletcher's hand tightly gripped the back of his neck, and he was forced to the floor. He was kicked onto his back, and before he could get up, the man harshly stomped onto his chest.

Feeling something crack, Estonia screamed. Pain filled his chest, causing tears to leak from his eyes. He was by no means weak, but he wasn't as used to pain as Lithuania and Latvia were. Though he was beaten several times when he lived with Russia, his torture was more mental than physical.

He cried out once more when Fletcher picked him up by his hair, dragging him over to the table. He was roughly slammed onto it and flipped onto his back. Too shocked to resist, he allowed his arms, legs, and neck to be restrained. He snapped out of the daze he was in when something (he couldn't tell what it was) was placed around his hips and fit into grooves in the table, hiding his lower half from view. Another, smaller plate was placed over his neck, making it so that he couldn't see his chest.

"Today, I'm going to be testing how a Nation's skin reacts to intense heat."

At this statement, Estonia started to struggle. His skin was always very sensitive to heat and light, and being confined to Russia's manor for so long didn't help. Even after he was independent, he still spent a majority of his time indoors, messing around on his many computers.

He was snapped back to reality when Fletcher removed his glasses. After they were placed somewhere, he felt (and smelled) some sort of liquid being spread all over his torso. He looked up at Fletcher, who stood over him with a kitchen lighter. Finally understanding what was going to happen, he allowed himself to cry.

"_Ei_!" he yelled, his panic causing him to forget how to speak English. "_Palun ei! Palun ei_!" When he finally remembered how to form sentences in his second language, it was too late. Fletcher brought the lighter down onto Estonia's chest. After that, all he could comprehend was pain.

Estonia screamed, begging Fletcher to stop the burning in every language he knew, but all the scientist did was smirk at him and occasionally stroke his tearstained face. He could feel his skin peeling as it burned, the fire destroying many layers. The disgusting scent of burning flesh assaulted his nose, and he gagged, willing himself not to vomit. His head spun, and he felt himself passing out.

However, his immortal body didn't let him, so he was forced to look into the demonic eyes of Fletcher. Maybe it was the pain of being burned, or the throbbing in his head and ribs, but somehow, the man's green eyes started to change to violet. As the pain worsened, Fletcher's smile widened, taking Estonia back to a darker time…

_"Please, Mr. Russia! Stop! I'm sorry!" _

_ But the cold Nation did not stop; he continued to hit his bespectacled subordinate until he coughed up blood. "Come on, _Estoniya_, you should be glad that it's you and not little Raivis down here. Just think of his tiny, fragile body being hit with this heavy pipe. His bones would snap like twigs, crack, crack, crack! What beautiful music he would make!"_

_ Estonia said nothing to this; he was too far gone, retreating deep into his mind. All he saw was Russia's deranged smile before he was hit again._

"I'm sorry, Mr. Russia, sir! I'll never disobey you again!" Estonia screamed, the pain too much for him. He couldn't tell what was reality and what was fantasy anymore: was he in the basement of the Soviet Union manor, or was he strapped to Fletcher's table?

After a few more torturous moments of screaming, he felt the fire being extinguished. "Thank you," he cried. "Thank you so much, Mr. Russia." His body shook from the torment it just endured, and whimpers escaped from his throat when he was fully hit with the pain of his burned skin.

"Aww, poor little Eesti; you'll always be nothing more than Russia's plaything."

Now Estonia was sure that he was with Fletcher. He clenched his teeth when he heard his name being said in his native language, hating how it sounded coming from such a monstrous man.

"I read all about your pathetic excuse for a life. Everyone calls you the luckiest Baltic, but that's not true, is it? You were hurt just as much as the others, but since you're so damn plain, no one cares about you. You might be smarter than the others, but you're colder than Lithuania and definitely not as beautiful as Latvia. You're nothing."

He walked closer to Estonia and leaned over, slamming his hands on his chest, aggravating the burned flesh and cracked ribs.

The middle Baltic wailed, the noise hurting his own ears.

"Tch, even your screams don't compare with little Raivis's, Eduard. They're funny to listen to, while his are like a sweet song."

"Stop it!" Estonia rasped. "Please!"

"You want to be complimented? Fine!" Fletcher put added more pressure to the hands on the boy's chest, causing him to scream again. "I read that you deserted Raivis time and time again, leaving him at Russia's mercy, while you escaped to safety. I would have done the same. His appearance is pleasing, but he's a worthless little brat who doesn't deserve to be a Nation. Nice work."

"Shut up!" Estonia yelled as loud as he could. "Just shut up, you pathetic excuse for a human being! What right do you have to judge us? What right do you have to call Raivis weak or worthless? He experienced more pain than a human could live through!"

He was met with a slap across the face. Fletcher undid the plates and the restraints and flipped him over, forcing him onto his stomach. The pain from the table meeting his burned body caused an animalistic scream to rip from his throat. He tried to resist when the restraints and plates were put back on, but his body wasn't responding correctly. His breathing sped up when he felt the liquid being poured on his back, and more tears fell from his swollen eyes. _Please! No more! _

"Interesting," Fletcher muttered. "You have scars, just like Raivis, though not as many. I wonder if Lithuania has them, too."

_If he's expecting an answer from me, he's not getting one. _

He squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip when he felt his back being set on fire.

"_Mu isamaa on minu arm_," he softly sang, "_kell' südant annud ma, sull' laulan ma, mu ülem õnn, mu õitsev Eestimaa_."

He wept after he finished the song, and continued to do so even after his voice was a mere whisper and the fire was once again extinguished.

When Fletcher grabbed him by his hair, dragging him off the table and back to his cell, he noticed that he had run out of tears. Once he was tossed in the tiny room, he realized that at some point, his glasses and boxers were carelessly put back on. He saw that Sealand was sprawled out on the floor, most likely unconscious, with a painful-looking burn encircling his neck, and that Iceland looked at him with sympathy. Looking around, he locked eyes with Latvia, who was surprisingly still awake. The small Nation's eyes widened before filling with tears.

Dragging himself to his friend, Estonia laid down next to him, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep. There was none; no matter how he laid, the burns on both sides of his body still hurt relentlessly.

Pushing the pain aside, he pulled Latvia to his chest and embraced him, just like he had done back when they shared a bed. However, he was forced to let him go when the pain became unbearable. _I can't even comfort you properly, anymore! _Whimpering, Estonia fell into a pain-filled, dreamless sleep.

* * *

**And that was the end of this (extremely long) chapter! Jeez! This took FOREVER to write!**

**I hope everyone's reactions to seeing Latvia being tortured were in-character and realistic. (Especially Russia; I have such a hard time writing him…)**

**As for Estonia's part, jeez, that was intense! (I myself have fair skin and sunburn easily, so his part sort of creeped me out, XD. …And I wrote it…)**

**I really, really hope he was in-character! I love writing about him, but this is the first story I've written where he shows so much emotion.**

**As for the song he sang, that was the unofficial Estonian anthem during the time of Soviet occupation. Currently, it is the closing song of the song festivals. Here are the English lyrics: **

"**My fatherland is my love, To whom I've given my heart, I sing to you, my greatest joy, My beloved Estonia!"  
I know it might seem weird that Estonia is singing a song about himself, but I went along with khow he was confused as to whether he was back in the Soviet era or not. -Shrugs-**

***Translations:**

**Dievas: God (Lithuanian)**

**Litva: Lithuania (Russian)**

**Latviya: Latvia (Russian)**

**Ei: No (Estonian)**

**Palun ei: Please don't (Estonian)—This literally translated into 'please do not', but I thought using the contraction flowed better.**

**Estoniya: Estonia (Russian)**

**Eesti: Estonia (Estonian)**

**In the next chapter, you'll find out what happens to poor little Sealand. **


	9. Chapter 08

**Welcome to Chapter Eight! This will be shorter than the last chapter, but still just as important.**

**This chapter takes place at the same time Estonia is being tortured.**

**Many thanks go to everyone who reviewed and/or added this to their favorites/alerts lists. **

**A special thank-you goes to Don'tDreamItBeIt! Your reviews are always awesome; I love reading them. (Your comment about what the discs could be made me crack up laughing. Thanks for making my day, er, night, XD.) Iceland might seem out of place in this story right now, but later on, he has an extremely important role.**

**More thanks go to Emilie, EeveeLuver, VoicesoftheSoul, and TeamLNMM for reviewing every chapter so far. You all are awesome! (Like Prussia!)**

***Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya***

* * *

**Chapter 08**

Sealand clenched his fists as he was dragged down the hallway. His head hurt from having all his weight being put on his hair, which he felt was starting to tear. When they finally made it to a room, he fell to the floor, the back of his head throbbing. He touched it to find out what happened, and realized that a handful of his hair had been ripped out. Shakily standing back up, he glared at the scientist.

Suddenly, all the emotion he was trying to suppress for days spilled from his mouth. "So, are you bastards going to cut me open, too? Will you remove my ribs and mess with my heart, huh?"

Sealand found himself on the ground, a heavy boot putting pressure on his throat. Gagging, he tried to push it off of him, but it wouldn't work. "Please!" he whispered, his vision going foggy.

Before he could pass out, the scientist removed his foot. Sealand took deep breaths, coughing and grabbing his throat. When he finally got his breathing back to normal, he sat up, looking around. He realized that he in some sort of gymnasium, minus the basketball courts. It was just a large room with bright, fluorescent lights, and a running track.

_Huh? _Sealand was confused. _What kind of experiment involves a gymnasium?_

"Confused, brat?" The scientist smirked at him, tapping his foot. "Allow me to explain. Today, I'm going to test the stamina of a Nation."

Before the micronation could resist, something heavy was buckled around his sore neck. It was tight enough to be uncomfortable, but not enough to hinder his breathing.

"What?"

"Here's how this is going to work." The man crossed his arms. "See that track over there? You're going to run around it until I tell you to stop."

"What happens if I stop before you tell me to?" Sealand was feeling incredibly bold at the moment, even though he had nearly been choked moments before.

A burning pain in his neck caused him to cry out.

"Around your neck is a shock collar. Whenever I press this button," he pointed to a button on the remote he was holding, "it sends electricity through your body. The more times you stop, the more shocks you receive. Got it?"

Sealand nodded, realizing it would be best if he kept his mouth shut.

"Good. Now get on that track and start running."

Sealand did what he was told. _This won't be so bad; I've been wanting to run around for awhile. _

He took back his words when his heart pounded painfully in his chest, and his lungs and legs burned. He didn't know how long he'd been running, but his body was begging him for water. Knowing that he wasn't going to get any, he did the next best thing and stopped, sinking to the floor.

A scream tore from his throat when he was shocked. When he didn't get up, pain coursed through his body again and again. Stumbling to his feet, he shakily ran, deciding that the pain in his lungs was better than being electrocuted.

"Oh come on!" the scientist mocked. "You can do better than that. You're a Nation, aren't you?" He paused for a second, as though he thought of something. "Oh, that's right; you're only a _micro_nation. No wonder you're so weak!"

"I…am not…weak!" Sealand rasped, trying to run faster.

"That's not what England says," the man sneered. "I read your file. No one wants you around. You're not good enough to be a real Nation; you'll always be worthless. You know it, too. That's why you sold yourself on Ebay, right? You thought some gullible Nation would pity you and adopt you so you could leech off of them. And that's exactly what that pathetic Sweden did. What a joke."

"SHUT UP!" Sealand shouted, running as fast as he could. When he got close enough, he lunged at the scientist, his small hands weakly beating the older man's chest. "Don't talk about my papa that way!"

"Oh, did I strike a nerve?" With one motion, the man slammed Sealand onto the floor, placing a foot on his chest. "You think he's your father? Grow up, kid; he adopted you because he thought he'd gain resources from it. You're nothing to him."

"No! Papa loves me! He loves me, and Mama, and Hanatamago! He said so! Denmark, Norway, and Iceland love me too!" As his 'family's' faces flashed across his mind, Sealand started to cry. _I wanna go home! I want this to end! I'll never complain about jerky England's cooking again; I just want to get away from here!_

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he was yanked to his feet.

"Did I tell you to stop running?"

"Leave me alone!" Sealand shook his head. However, he shakily complied when his neck kept burning. _I can do this! _he chanted in his mind as he ran around the track countless times._ I'll be as strong as Papa or England, or America. I'll show him; I'm as strong as a Nation! I'm strong! I'm…I'm so tired. _The pain in his chest intensified, and the young blond found himself falling to the floor. Curling up, he grabbed his aching legs and let his vision go blurry. He didn't react when he felt the pain of being shocked multiple times; he was too far gone to care.

_Papa, I'm sorry. I wasn't strong enough. _Sealand closed his eyes and let the blackness overtake him.

/

Iceland's heart broke when he heard Latvia muttering to himself. It was a mixture of thickly-accented English and Latvian, so he couldn't understand what was being said, but by the tone of voice, it wasn't good.

The Nordic boy was normally reserved, but he found himself walking over to his tormented friend and sitting next to him. "Sealand and Estonia will be fine. They're strong."

"I know, but…" There was a long pause. "Sorry. My English is getting worse." He said something in Latvian before switching back to their mutual language. "Though I am fixing—no, _healing_. Sorry, wrong word—I still hurt. Is difficult to translate words."

Iceland nodded, understanding. He was about to say something, but was interrupted when an agonized scream pierced through the (apparently thin) walls of their cell. Latvia's eyes widened before whispering, "Eduard." Forcing himself to sit up, the small blond jerkily lunged forward and tightly embraced Iceland.

At first, the silver-haired Nation wasn't sure what to do. He was never hugged much, and didn't really care for the affection. However, he wasn't just going to push Latvia away, especially not when his closest friend was most likely being brutally tortured.

He was snapped back to reality when he felt tears soaking through the front of his hospital gown. As the screams continued, Latvia's sobbing got louder, and his trembling increased. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, gently pulling him closer.

They stayed in that position until the door opened, and an unconscious Sealand was unceremoniously thrown into the room. Latvia curled up on the ground, looking horrified, while Iceland quickly walked over to the micronation, wanting to assess his injuries. Ignoring Estonia's screams, he removed Sealand's torn hospital gown, revealing bruises on his chest. His knees were skinned and bleeding, and his feet had a few blisters on them. However, what worried Iceland the most was the painful-looking burn encircling his neck. He hesitantly traced it with his finger, only to recoil when Sealand weakly whimpered. _What happened?_

Though Norway was his biological brother (a fact that the former Viking would always remind him of), he thought of Sealand as a cousin, since Sweden had adopted him. Sure, the boy was incredibly energetic and annoying (which is why he and Denmark got along perfectly), and Iceland got tired of him quickly, but seeing him like this made him angry. _He's barely a teenager; who would be this cruel? _He looked back at Latvia, who was staring at him with unfocused eyes, still muttering in his own language. _At least he doesn't seem to be as damaged as Raivis. I'll know for sure what happened when he wakes up, though._

Before his mind could process what his body was doing, walked back over to Latvia, gently pulling him onto his lap. The small blond stiffened and Iceland tensed up, thinking that he hurt him. He was about to set him back on the ground when he heard a weak "Nē!" come from Latvia. Pain-filled azure eyes met frosty cerulean, and once again, Iceland found himself holding Latvia to his chest.

"Screaming won't stop. _Igaunija _is hurting badly."

"I know." Iceland slowly rocked him, like he saw Sweden do to Sealand after he had a nightmare once. The motions didn't stop Latvia from crying, but after awhile, he fell asleep. Luckily, he didn't experience any violent delusions, which pleased Iceland. He watched the small Nation as he slept, noticing how he trembled even in unconsciousness. Slowly reaching down, he weaved his hand through Latvia's thick hair. Though a lot of it was covered in blood, he could still feel the softness, which made him smile. He also noted how doll-like the younger Nation's face looked when it wasn't contorted with pain. _Am I going crazy? Why am I smiling over his hair and face? It's ridiculous!_

Shaking his head, Iceland allowed himself to slouch against the wall. Even though Estonia's screams occasionally shattered the silence, he found his eyes closing, drowsiness overtaking him.

He was pulled from his sleep when he heard the door slam open. He realized that Latvia was no longer on his lap, and was currently lying next to him, his eyes wide with fear.

Iceland followed the terrified Nation's gaze and saw Estonia being dragged into the room by his hair. The scientist known as Fletcher dropped him and left the room. The Nordic boy smelled burning flesh, which made his stomach churn. When he looked closer at the bespectacled Nation, he realized that there were painful-looking burns covering his body.

Iceland's head snapped up when he heard Estonia whimper. The look on the studious Nation's face unnerved him; instead of an cold, reserved expression, his face was filled with fear and pain. It made him seem much younger than he was, which Iceland didn't like. He observed Estonia as he dragged himself over to Latvia, who was now crying, and embraced him. He felt a pang of sadness in his heart when the taller blond was forced to let his friend go, probably because of the pain.

_When is this going to end? _Iceland sighed and laid down next to Latvia, closing his eyes. After a few moments, he felt some extra warmth, and looked down to see the small Nation snuggling into his chest.

Sighing once more, Iceland wrapped his arms around Latvia, an unfamiliar feeling shooting through him. _Sleep well; you deserve it._

/

Fletcher and Schramm, as well as Stanfield and Katya, watched the video feed of the captured Nations.

"So, how did that Kirkland brat perform?" asked Fletcher, though he intently watched the screen.

Schramm shook his head. "He was so weak. He only was able to run for about an hour and a half before passing out. Ugh, his screaming was so annoying; I wish I could have cut out his vocal cords!"

Katya and Stanfield said nothing and looked at each other, their eyes narrowed.

"Maybe next time," said Fletcher, smirking. "It was fun toying with Eduard and seeing him break." He tapped his foot on the floor. "I didn't think he'd care about little Raivis as much as he did."

_Of course he cares, you idiot! _Katya clenched her fists. _Anyone who read both their files could see that, especially after what they went through together. _

"Oh! Would you look at this."

Katya turned to the screen. "What? They're all asleep."

"Look at Raivis and Erikur."

The blonde woman did what she was told and looked closer. She noticed that the two boys Fletcher pointed out were sleeping very close together, their arms wrapped around each other. Raivis's head was buried in the crook of Erikur's neck, and he was slightly smiling. "What about them?" She didn't like Fletcher's tone.

"It seems a bit odd that Erikur, who's normally more reserved than Eduard, is letting someone sleep that close. It's interesting."

Katya didn't like the look the man was giving the two Nations; it looked almost predatory.

"You know what?" he finally said, the smile back on his face. "We should test those two's newfound friendship."

"Not yet!" Katya blurted out. Whatever Fletcher was planning didn't sound good. "You should wait until Raivis has recovered a bit before you do any more experimentation on him!"

Stanfield nodded. "I agree, sir."

"Fine." Fletcher narrowed his eyes. "I'll give him a week. After that, I'm going ahead with the procedure, whether he's healed or not. Remember, he's not a person, he's a _test subject_."

Katya said nothing, though inside, she was seething. You're _the one who's not a person, you heartless bastard! _

Suddenly, there was movement on the screen. All four scientists turned to it, listening closely.

"My fault," Raivis choked, tightening his grip on Erikur. Tears poured from his eyes, and he hung his head. "Dreamt about Eduard being burnt before. Mr. Fletcher said there were cameras in here. He must have gotten the idea from me!"

"It is _not _your fault, Raivis. Please, try to go back to sleep."

The younger boy shakily nodded, though he didn't look convinced. Muttering something in Latvian, he buried his face in Iceland's shirt. When his shaking ceased, Katya guessed that he was asleep.

"Huh, he's smarter than I thought. He picked up the reason for Eduard's test very quickly."

Katya didn't want to hear any more of Fletcher's sick statements. She quickly left the room, heading to her own quarters. _I hate this! I want to help them, but… _Thinking of how she was convinced to participate in this cruel project, she shuddered. _I'm sorry boys, but I have too much to lose if I help you. _Sighing, she got into her pajamas and flopped onto her bed.

_This is going to be a long year. _

* * *

**And that is the end of this chapter. I know it's not the best I've written, but I've edited this countless times and thought it was finally good enough to post.**

**Poor Sealand! I feel so, so bad for him! Though his torture wasn't as brutal as Latvia's or Estonia's, it was still a horrible thing for him to experience. –Hugs him-**

**Oh, Iceland, maybe you're just starting have feelings for Latvia, ohohohon~. –Gets shot- (Yes, I like IceLat…XD It's such an underappreciated pairing, for some reason.) If anyone is wondering, yes, this pairing will be included in this story, but it will happen gradually. It is also going to be the shounen-ai variety, NOT yaoi. (There's a difference, people.) I'm not a huge yaoi fan, but I do like shounen-ai. Also, the pairing will not be the focus of this story. (It'll be more of a tiny subplot.) **

**In my head-canon, though Sealand is outwardly confident and energetic, he is actually very insecure about himself. Though he says he hates England, I think he looks up to him, and just wants his approval. **

**Just wait until Sweden and the rest of the Nordics see what happened to Sealand...**

**As for Latvia's English getting worse, I figured that since he was in a lot of pain, he wouldn't have the energy to translate everything he says into perfect English. -Shrugs-**

**...I hope everyone was in-character...**

**Sorry for the long wait; I had writer's block. (Which sucks!) But I'm back!**

**Translations:  
Nē: No (Latvian)  
_Igaunija_: Estonia (Latvian)  
**

**The next chapter will be extremely brutal. (Think of Chapter Three.) I'm just warning you now.**

**See you next chapter! C:**


	10. Chapter 09

**Sorry this is so late; I was busy, and I had writer's block, XD**

**Like I said in the last A/N, this chapter will be extremely, extremely brutal. It once again includes the horrific torture of a child (similar to what happened to Latvia in Chapter Three and Estonia in Chapter Seven). You have been warned.**

**Many thanks go to everyone who reviewed and/or added this to their favorites/alerts lists. You all are Prussia-level awesome! : )**

***Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya***

* * *

**Chapter 09**

It had been a week and a half since Iceland and his companions had been thrown into the facility, and it was starting to take its toll on them. Since they had been fed only one meal every other day, they were weakened because of the lack of nourishment. Latvia and Estonia were healing, though the latter's wounds were fixing themselves faster. The former, however, wasn't healing as rapidly as a Nation usually would, which scared Iceland. The small blond's legs were still swollen, and the incision, though less red, still needed the stitches. He didn't have delusions anymore, nor did he have difficulties speaking English, though, which was good.

Despite the fact that no one had been experimented on in a week, Iceland was on edge. _They're planning something. I just know it. _

He was pulled from his thoughts when Estonia tapped his shoulder. "Here's your share." The bespectacled boy handed him a cracker, smiling grimly.

"Thanks." Iceland ate the tiny amount of food and went back to observing his companions. Since Estonia was the last person he saw, he focused on him. The angry red burns on his back and chest were now a dull pink, and the Nordic boy assumed that he was in less pain, especially since he was able to move and talk without outwardly wincing.

_It won't be long before he's healed. _However, even though Estonia's body was healing, Iceland noticed that his emotional state was deteriorating. He sat by Latvia's side constantly, whispering things to him in Estonian and holding his hand. Though he made sure his outward persona was exactly how it was before, Iceland could see that there was great fear in his eyes and movements. Sometimes, he would wake up in the middle of the night to hear the middle Baltic softly crying. He never made his presence known; he knew that pity was the last thing Estonia wanted.

_He's trying so hard to be strong for us. He's going against his nature by taking charge, here. _By observing him at world meetings, Iceland could obviously see that Estonia was not a natural leader. He wasn't a follower either, by any means, but he would rather work alone than with a group. Even though Finland was his friend, he normally sat away from everyone else, even his fellow Baltics, staying silent until he was almost as forgotten as Canada. It didn't help that his one desire, to be recognized as a Nordic, was laughed at, and that his language and culture was different than those of Lithuania and Latvia. Though everyone referred to him as one of the three Baltics, Estonia was the odd man out. And it was obvious that he knew it.

Sighing inwardly, Iceland turned to Sealand. The young micronation sat with his back leaning against the wall, his eyes dull. The burn around his neck was almost healed, but like Estonia, there was something different about his eyes. Whenever Sweden or Finland was mentioned, instead giving a positive response, the boy only shrugged, the smile on his face not matching the new doubt that was in his eyes. He talked less about being a hero and more about his own stupidity.

_His childishness is gone. England would be proud. _Though he had nothing against the former pirate, he didn't like how he treated Sealand like a mini-adult instead of the child he clearly was.

Finally, Iceland looked at Latvia. The boy—who was now able to sit up with only minor discomfort—sat in the middle of the room, his legs curled to his chest. His head rested on his knees, exhausted and terrified eyes staring blankly at the wall. Slight tremors wracked his body, and he bit his lower lip.

Iceland wondered if Latvia was cold, or his shaking was now completely involuntary. Estonia, noticing this too, whispered something into his ear.

The small blond responded, but Iceland was too far away to hear anything.

"He's really cold," Estonia clarified. "He wanted to know if he could wear your gown for a bit, Iceland."

Without any second thoughts, he walked over to the two and allowed Estonia to undo the ties and put the thin garment on Latvia.

_Why didn't you ask for it sooner? _While Iceland and the others were wearing underwear, Latvia had been completely naked for a week.

"I…I didn't want to get blood on it."

The Nordic boy blushed when he realized that he spoke his thoughts out loud. "You need it more than I do."

He wasn't expecting Latvia to hug him, so he reflexively stiffened when he felt the smaller boy's arms wrap around him. Their position was so close that Iceland could feel Latvia's (weak) heartbeat.

"I want to go home," he whispered, so softly that, at first, the silver-haired Nation didn't hear him. "Everyone's falling apart. Including me. Including you."

These words chilled Iceland. He had been trying so hard to keep his fear to himself, and, until now, he assumed that he was hiding it just fine.

"I'm not stupid, no matter how many people say otherwise," Latvia continued, his breath hot in Iceland's ear. "Eduard's become so jumpy, and Peter's hope is gone. They're supposed to be strong! They're not supposed to be…like me."

Without thinking, Iceland wrapped his arms around the younger boy. He was about to say something else, but the door was thrown open, hitting the wall loudly.

Latvia tightened his grip on Iceland, his nails now digging into his back. "Don't let them take me!" he whispered frantically, burying his face in the crook of the taller Nation's neck.

An emotion he rarely felt flared up. He held Latvia close, his eyes narrowed into slits as Fletcher and two female scientists stepped closer.

Suddenly, Latvia was ripped from his grasp by the blonde woman, causing the boy to scream. Iceland was about to retaliate, but Estonia beat him to it, panic obvious in his eyes.

"I won't abandon you," Iceland swore he heard the bespectacled boy mutter. "Not again." He lunged at the woman, who easily sidestepped him. The other, who looked to be of Mexican or South American descent, quickly grabbed the back of his neck and slammed his head against the wall.

As soon as the taller boy fell limp, Sealand gasped, hiding behind Iceland. Before the silver-haired boy could react, a cloth was pressed over his mouth and nose. He held his breath, but it was only a matter of time before the need for oxygen took over and he was forced to inhale whatever was on the rag. It wasn't long before the room started to spin, blackness overtaking his vision.

/

As soon as both Iceland and Latvia were knocked out, Fletcher picked up the smaller of the two.

"Rodriguez!" he barked. "Since you're stronger, you carry Erikur."

The raven-haired woman nodded, grabbing the Icelander by his hair and dragging him out the door.

The walk down the hallway was silent until Fletcher spoke. "This will be a very interesting experiment."

"Are you sure you want to do this to Raivis? You know he's yo—"

"I'm completely sure, Strike," he interrupted, causing the blonde to narrow her eyes. "I don't care who or what he is."

When the three made it to the room, they found Stanfield and Schramm waiting for them.

"Ready to begin?" Schramm asked, almost cheerfully.

"Yes. Just help me restrain these two to their tables. Lay Erikur on his stomach, while Raivis'll be on his back." Fletcher instructed. He himself dropped Latvia on his table, making sure to buckle the restraints extremely tight.

"Since I want Raivis to be awake for his part in the experiment, we'll start with Erikur.

Stanfield nodded and grabbed a syringe. "You're a lucky boy," he muttered, injecting the anesthesia into a vein on his right arm before restraining him.

Once Fletcher was sure the injection kicked in, he handed an electronic hair trimmer to Strike. "Shave his entire head."

The blonde complied, though she didn't look happy. "He won't look as pretty with all his hair gone."

Once the Nordic boy's head was shaved, he handed a scalpel to Rodriguez. "You know what to do."

After an incision was made on Iceland's scalp, Stanfield carefully peeled back the skin. Once his skull was visible, Schramm approached the table with a bone saw. Grinning, he turned it on and delicately brought it down on the boy's skull.

/

When Iceland awoke, he found himself on his stomach, strapped to a cold table. He also had an excruciating headache. _What happened? _His head throbbed, and he just wanted to go back to sleep, but he forced his eyes open.

From his position, he could see that Latvia was strapped to a table as well, though he was on his back. Besides his eyes, which were widened in fear, the first thing he noticed was that his soft, wavy hair was gone.

_Why did they shave his head?_

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Fletcher walked over to Latvia's table. "Since 'Prince Erikur'…" He mockingly bowed to Iceland, smirking. "…Is awake, we can begin little Raivis's experiment." He picked up a scalpel, the smile still on his face.

"What are you doing?" Iceland found himself yelling.

"The same thing that was done to you. Except we're going to compare the results we got from you receiving anesthetics to the ones we get from Raivis while he's conscious."

_What? _He resisted the urge to vomit when the knife sank into Latvia's scalp, causing the boy to shriek. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists when he saw the skin on his friend's head being yanked back and pinned. The screams got worse, and Iceland felt even sicker than before.

"Stop it! You're hurting him!"

"Oh please," scoffed Fletcher, tossing the scalpel back onto the table. "This is nothing compared to what will happen next; the baby should learn to shut up." Smirking, he picked up some sort of saw, turning it on.

Realizing what was going to happen, Iceland thrashed against his restraints. "Please! Don't do it!"

But Fletcher didn't listen.

When the saw cut through Latvia's skull, the boy screamed so inhumanly that it scared Iceland. As it continued to cut, the screams worsened. He passed out when a piece of his skull was removed, but was jolted awake a few minutes later.

Unable to take any more, Iceland's eyes watered. "Please!" he cried, finally losing his composure. "Don't hurt him anymore! Please give him something so he won't feel any more pain!"

"If this piece of trash wants anesthetics, he's going to have to beg for them."

"Please!" Latvia rasped, his voice barely audible. "I need anesthetics. Can I have them, Mr. Fletcher, sir?"

"What was that? I can't hear you!"

"I'm sorry! I'm speaking as loud as I can! Please! I can't take any more!" Latvia sobbed, his tears falling from his cheeks to the table, mixing with his blood.

"Tch. I'm sorry, little Raivis," Fletcher sneered. "You're just not loud enough."

Without any warning, he stuck his hand into the opening in the small blond's skull, presumably to feel his brain.

Iceland's eyes widened, unable to believe what he had just witnessed. However, Latvia screaming bloody murder made the Nordic boy sure that what he was seeing was true.

"You bastards!" he screamed. "You monsters! You disgusting freaks!"

He went silent when one of the scientists slapped the back of his head, causing his vision to swim. Though his sight was foggy, he could hear the agonized cries of his friend perfectly.

"Iceland! Erikur! Please! Make it stop!"

With each shriek, Iceland's heart was breaking. _Oh, Raivis; I'd help you if I could! _He wanted nothing more than to run over to Latvia and protect him, even at the cost of pain being inflicted on himself.

With each jab to his brain, Latvia's words became more and more garbled. Once and awhile something coherent would break through the incomprehensible mess of English, Latvian, and Russian. Those cries hurt Iceland the most.

"Mama!" he finally screamed, making the loudest sound since his skull was broken. "Mama…Toris! Where are you? Please, come back! I'm sorry for calling you clumsy before!"

"You call Lithuania your mother even though he's male?" Fletcher scoffed, pausing his 'experiment'. "You're disgracing his name and accomplishments by referring to him as a female. Even if he did want to come after you, as soon as he sees this experiment, and hears what you called him, he'll be so insulted that he won't even bother rescuing you."

"You're right!" Latvia sobbed, more tears pouring from his swollen eyes. "I'm so sorry, Toris; I didn't mean to disgrace you! Please don't hate me! I miss you so much!"

Tears dripped down Iceland's face. _Raivis… _He opened his eyes just in time to see Fletcher jab Latvia's brain one final time.

With a shuddering gasp, the tiny Nation's body twitched, his eyes going wide before glazing over. He made a noise that was the horrifying mixture of a gurgle and a scream before his eyes closed and his body fell limp.

"Oh dear," Fletcher laughed, removing his hand. "I think I poked his little brain too forcefully and punctured his frontal lobe. The stupid thing is paralyzed, now. Whoops."

_Paralyzed? _Anger like he never felt before pulsed through Iceland, tinting his vision red. "You disgusting son of a bitch," he spat, not caring about the pain in his head. "If I ever get my hands on you, you're dead! You hear me, you _stykki af skit? _Dead!"

Fletcher only smirked, shaking his head. He turned back to Latvia and hastily glued the piece of his skull back into place. Afterwards, he carelessly wrapped bandages around the wound and undid the restraints. As soon as Latvia was in his arms, the blonde female scientist undid Iceland's restraints and pulled him off of the table. When Fletcher left the room, she tightly grabbed the Nordic Nation's arm, dragging him out as well.

Before Iceland knew it, he was pushed back into his cell, Latvia being tossed in behind him. Not wanting the younger boy to slam onto the floor, he forced himself forward, letting his body break Latvia's fall.

As soon as he was sure the scientists left, Iceland gathered Latvia's limp body in his arms and cried, not caring if Estonia and Sealand watched. _I'm sorry, Raivis! I wish I could have helped you!_

After awhile, his body stopped trembling, and the tears ceased. When he looked up, he noticed that Estonia and Sealand were on either side of him.

"What happened?" Estonia's voice was cold.

Iceland took a deep breath, ready to answer the question. However, another wave of dizziness hit him, and he found himself falling next to Latvia. His head throbbed, and his vision went fuzzy before darkening completely.

* * *

**And that was the end of this…eventful chapter.**

**Poor Iceland; he's really emotional in this one. (I hope he's in character…)**

**LATVIAAAA! I'm so sorry! –Hugs the poor boy- Fletcher isn't torturing Latvia for no reason, though; his obsession with him will be explained, soon.**

**Ugh, this torture scene was so hard to write, for some reason.**

**Just a quick lesson: the frontal lobe of the brain controls movements and speech, as well as other functions (though they are not important, in the context of this story). **

**For some reason, I can totally imagine Latvia thinking of Lithuania as his 'mama', XD. **

**Translations:  
stykki af skit: piece of shit _(Icelandic)_**

**See you next chapter, I hope… XD**


	11. Chapter 10

**Welcome to Chapter Ten! (Yay! I'm in the double digits, now!) **

**This chapter will go back to the Nations who received the disks before. It will also advance the plot. (Yeah, there's more to this story than just torturing Latvia, Estonia, Iceland, and Sealand, XD.) This won't be a gory chapter, so it won't be as scary/interesting as the others. This might seem like filler now, but I needed to add this chapter at some point, and now seemed to be the best time for it. **

**A big thank-you goes out to everyone who reviewed and/or added this to their favorites/alerts lists. You all are awesome!**

***A special thank-you goes to Emilie and Don'tDreamItBeIt; since you are anonymous reviewers, I cannot respond to you via PM, so I will respond here. Thanks so much for your wonderful reviews!***

**Random thought: Watching HetaOni at night isn't my smartest idea. (Steve is soooo creepy! I blame the scary music, though…)**

**This chapter will contain mild SuFin (Sweden/Finland).**

***Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya***

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Finland looked around the room, a disk in his shaking hands. After he and Sweden had gotten the first package, they had been contacted by other Nations who had gotten them as well. They agreed to meet with each other as soon as they could to discuss what could be done to rescue Latvia and the others. The meeting would be held in his and Sweden's house, since it was the largest. Coincidentally, another package was sent to them the day of the meeting.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he inwardly made a tally of who showed up. _America and England. Lithuania, Poland, and Russia. Denmark and Norway. _The last two weren't originally invited, but after a frantic call from Norway, who couldn't get ahold of Iceland, he and Sweden let the normally-reserved Nation in on what had happened. Convinced that Iceland was the fourth Nation captured, Norway packed his bags and took the first plane he could to Stockholm. Not wanting to leave Denmark out of the loop, Sweden reluctantly invited him as well.

At first, Finland was worried that the boisterous Nation would ruin their meeting, but for once, he was silent. His trademark grin was gone, and his face looked pale.

"Are you going to play the video?" Norway asked, his voice hard.

"I'm about to." Finland really didn't want to see another Nation being tortured so cruelly, but odds are there would be another message during or at the end of the video. Placing the disk in the DVD player, he ignored the sick feeling in his stomach and pressed 'play'.

At first, all he saw on the screen was a running track. After a few seconds, a very familiar boy ran past the camera, his eyes determined.

_Peter? _He gripped Sweden's hand and continued to watch, the nausea in his stomach getting worse.

After awhile, Sealand fell to the ground, obviously exhausted by the consecutive running. A shrill scream tore from his throat, and he grabbed at his neck. He writhed in pain until he forced himself to stand up and start running again.

"A shock coll'r." The look on Sweden's face was murderous.

_They put a shock collar on him? _The disgust Finland felt now evaporated, a burning anger taking its place. His attention snapped back to the video when Sealand screamed and lunged at the scientist who was taunting him.

_"SHUT UP! Don't talk about my Papa that way!" _

_ "Oh, did I strike a nerve?" _With one motion, the man slammed Sealand onto the floor, placing a foot on his chest._ "You think he's your father? Grow up, kid; he adopted you because he thought he'd gain resources from it. You're nothing to him."_

_"No! Papa loves me! He loves me, and Mama, and Hanatamago! He said so! Denmark, Norway, and Iceland love me too!" _Sealand started to cry.

With each tear his adoptive son shed, Finland's heart was breaking.

"Don' listen to 'im, Pet'r," Sweden murmured, only loud enough for Finland to hear. "We love ya."

When the scientist yanked the trembling boy to his feet, England yelled, "Hey! Don't touch him!"

Despite the disturbing content of the video, Finland smiled. _I knew he cared about him. _The smile fell off his face when the scene suddenly changed. Instead of running, Sealand was on the ground, tears dripping from his eyes. He whimpered and curled up, though his body stiffened when he was shocked over and over again. This time, he didn't make a sound, and Finland knew that he was very close to passing out. When his 'son's' eyes closed, he paused the video, his body shaking with anger.

"Perkele!" he yelled, punching the nearest wall. Everyone seemed surprised that he had an outburst, since he was normally so optimistic and cheerful. "Ne paskiaiset! How could they? He's only a child!"

He was about to punch the wall again, but Sweden grabbed his arm, gently embracing him. "We'll find 'im," he said, his voice icy. "An' when we do, those scientists 're dead."

Taking in a shuddering breath, Finland allowed himself to sit back on the couch, his hand intertwined with Sweden's. Normally, he wouldn't be so obvious about their relationship, but this was an exception.

"Let's watch the rest of the video," America finally said, holding a pillow close to his chest.

"Right." Finland picked up the remote and started the recording once more.

/

After a few more seconds of Sealand on the ground, the scene changed once more. Instead of the gymnasium, the camera looked to be in a small lab. Lithuania's stomach churned when the camera zoomed in on someone extremely familiar.

"No," he murmured aloud. Though his glasses were removed, and his usual cold expression was gone, the boy bound to the table was unmistakably Estonia.

"Voi luoja! Viro!"

Lithuania turned to Finland, who had his hand placed against his mouth. When their eyes met, he could see the pain in the Nordic man's eyes. _That's right; Eduard is his best friend. _

He was snapped out of his thoughts when the scientist—who was the same man that tortured Latvia before—spoke.

_"Today, I'm going to be testing how a Nation's skin reacts to intense heat."_

"What?" Lithuania grabbed the hand closest to his, which happened to belong to America. The taller Nation returned the gesture, and when the brunet looked at him, he saw that his face was stony.

At the sound of movement, Lithuania turned back to the video. Estonia struggled, desperately trying to escape the restraints. It was futile, and only succeeded in leaving red marks on his wrists and ankles.

The boy whimpered when some sort of liquid was poured onto his chest and torso. The scientist presented a kitchen lighter to the camera, and Lithuania realized what was going to happen.

"No! He can't do that! Why would he—" He never got to finish his sentence.

_"Ei!" _Estonia cried, his native language rolling off his tongue faster than his English could. _"Palun ei! Palun ei!"_

The scientist only smirked and brought the flame down until it met his victim's chest.

When flames traveled wherever the liquid was spread, Lithuania turned to America and embraced him. Though he couldn't see his friend's body burning, he heard his screams perfectly. _Make it stop! Why are they hurting him? He's done nothing wrong! He's a child, too, just like Raivis!_

He turned back to the screen when he heard the boy wail, _"I'm sorry, Mr. Russia, sir! I'll never disobey you again!"_

"What?" Russia dropped the glass he was holding, sending it crashing to the floor. "Me? He's apologizing…to me?"

Lithuania looked into his old tormentor's eyes and saw a heartbreaking amount of shame and pain.

"He thinks of me whenever he's in pain," the cold Nation murmured, grabbing the fabric of his thick coat. "Did I damage him that much?"

The brunet completely let go of America. "He's regressing, I think," he explained, his voice dangerously low. "He's in so much pain that he can't comprehend what's going on. My guess is that he thinks he's back in the Soviet Union, since that was the last time his body went through so much distress."

"Oh no…" Russia held his face in his hands.

After what seemed to be an eternity of screaming, the scientist put out the fire, causing Estonia to go silent. _"Thank you so much, Mr. Russia," _he finally said, tears sliding down his face. His body shook from the trauma it received, and quiet whimpers escaped his throat.

_Eduard, I'm so sorry. I wish I could be there, with you. _Seeing the normally-reserved boy in so much pain broke Lithuania's heart. He longed to hold him in his arms, to comfort him until his tears stopped falling.

His head snapped back towards the screen when he heard the scientist speak.

_"I read all about your pathetic excuse for a life. Everyone calls you the luckiest Baltic, but that's not true, is it? You were hurt just as much as the others, but since you're so damn plain, no one cares about you. You might be smarter than the others, but you're colder than Lithuania and definitely not as beautiful as Latvia. You're nothing."_

_ That's not true, Eduard, _thought Lithuania, tears forming in his eyes. _Don't believe him._

The man walked closer to Estonia and leaned over, slamming his hands on his chest, aggravating the burned flesh.

The middle Baltic shrieked, the sound of it hurting Lithuania's ears.

_"Tch, even your screams don't compare with little Raivis's, Eduard. They're funny to listen to, while his are like a sweet song."_

_"Stop it!" _Estonia rasped. _"Please!"_

_"You want to be complimented? Fine!"_ The scientist added more pressure to the hands on the boy's chest, causing him to scream again. _"I read that you deserted Raivis time and time again, leaving him at Russia's mercy, while you escaped to safety. I would have done the same. His appearance is pleasing, but he's a worthless little brat who doesn't deserve to be a Nation. Nice work."_

_"Shut up!"_ Estonia yelled as loud as he could. _"Just shut up, you pathetic excuse for a human being! What right do you have to judge us? What right do you have to call Raivis weak or worthless? He experienced more pain than a human could live through!"_

"You tell him, Ed!" America exclaimed, nodding at the screen. "Don't let him talk that way to you! You're better than he is; you always will be!"

Lithuania smiled through his tears. _Thank you, Alfred. Thank you for supporting him. I'm sure he'd appreciate that. _

However, his smile evaporated when the scientist undid the restraints and roughly flipped Estonia onto his stomach. Knowing what was coming after the liquid—which he assumed was gasoline—was poured onto his back, he turned away, leaning into America's chest once more.

The screaming started again, but after awhile, they stopped, soft, raspy singing taking its place.

Lithuania looked up to see the scientist undo the restraints once more before carelessly clothing Estonia in a pair of boxers and putting his glasses back onto his face. The screen then faded to black, and the brunet used this as an excuse to pause the video.

"That was…horrifying," said America, his eyes wide.

"Why would someone do that to him?" demanded Denmark, standing up. "Sealand too! They're only kids!"

"I am starting to lose my faith in humanity." England shook his head, his eyes tired. "I thought I had seen it all: war, piracy, torture. But this? For the simple fact that we are not human, we are condemned to this? No wonder my friends only make themselves visible to a select few."

"I completely agree," Norway added. "Humans always act this way to creatures they cannot even begin to understand. My friends also made themselves invisible to humans for this reason."

"What friends are they talking about?" America asked, tilting his head.

Lithuania just shrugged; he had no idea, nor did he particularly care. His main focus was trying to figure out how to find and free Estonia, Latvia, and the other captured Nations.

"Poor little _Estoniya_." Russia shook his head, wringing his hands. "He did not deserve this."

Hoping to see a message at the end of the video, like the last one, Lithuania grabbed the remote and un-paused it. After the black screen disappeared, he was shocked to see not a note, but more video footage. He was even more shocked to see the two Nations that were onscreen this time.

"Iceland?" Norway exclaimed, standing up. Gone was his trademark icy expression; in its place was an emotion that Lithuania had never seen him express before: fear.

"And Latvia! He's already been 'experimented' on once! Why the hell is he here again?" America stood up, his face angry.

_When will this ever end?_

"Their heads 're shaved," Sweden pointed out, narrowing his eyes. "An' Icelan's scalp's stitched up. Latvia's isn', though."

_Oh God. _Lithuania had a guess as to what happened to Iceland, and what would probably happen to Latvia.

Unfortunately, he was right. Ice traveled through his body when the scientist sank his scalpel into Latvia's scalp. He covered his ears, but his friend's screams were too loud to block out. They only got louder when his skin was peeled back and pinned, revealing his skull. Iceland's pleading for the scientists to stop added to the noise. Both boys' screams got louder when the head scientist cut through Latvia's skull. From where the camera was positioned, Lithuania could see the boy's brain.

"Those bastards!" the brunet found himself shouting, kicking the table in front of him. He didn't care if he was making a scene; he just wanted to wring the scientists' necks, at the moment.

He was so wrapped up in his angry thoughts that he almost missed what the scientist said.

_"If this piece of trash wants anesthetics, he's going to have to beg for them." _

Everyone went silent when Latvia opened his mouth. _"Please!"_ the boy rasped, his voice barely audible. _"I need anesthetics. Can I have them, Mr. Fletcher, sir?"_

_ Fletcher? So that's the bastard's name. _Lithuania gritted his teeth.

_"What was that? I can't hear you!"_

_"I'm sorry! I'm speaking as loud as I can! Please! I can't take any more!"_ Latvia sobbed, his tears falling from his cheeks to the table, mixing with his blood.

_"Tch. I'm sorry, little Raivis,"_ Fletcher sneered. _"You're just not loud enough."_

As soon as he was finished speaking, he stuck his hand into the opening in Latvia's skull and mercilessly jabbed at his brain.

Lithuania visibly winced when the small Nation screamed louder than he thought was possible.

_"You monsters!" _Iceland shouted. _"You bastards! You disgusting freaks!"_

Norway's expression turned into one of pure rage when one of the female scientists slapped him across the back of the head.

With each jab to his brain, Latvia's cries became more garbled. When he started begging for death in Russian, Lithuania squeezed his watering eyes shut, wishing that he was never forced to learn the language. When he finally opened them, he turned to Russia, who was slightly leaning against him.

"Why are they hurting him, _Litva_? He's just a little boy; he is completely innocent!" The large Nation squeezed the brunet's hand, which unnerved him greatly. "His screams are not pretty anymore; they make me sick."

Lithuania was about to answer, but Latvia's heartwrenching screams caused him to look at the screen once more.

_"Mama!"_ he finally sobbed, making the loudest sound since his skull was broken. _"Mama…Toris! Where are you? Please, come back! I'm sorry for calling you clumsy before!"_

_ He called me…_'Mama'? Lithuania's heart broke even more.

_"You call Lithuania your mother even though he's male?"_ Fletcher scoffed. _"You're disgracing his name and accomplishments by referring to him as a female. Even if he did want to come after you, as soon as he sees this experiment, and hears what you called him, he'll be so insulted that he won't even bother rescuing you."_

_"You're right!"_ Latvia gasped, more tears pouring from his swollen eyes. _"I'm so sorry, Toris; I didn't mean to disgrace you! Please don't hate me! I miss you so much!"_

That was the last straw for Lithuania. Not caring that he was surrounded by Nations, he cried, wrapping his arms around himself.

"Liet…" Poland murmured, getting up from his chair and wrapping his arms around his friend. "We'll get them; we totally will."

"That isn't enough!" he yelled, gripping the blond's arm tightly. "I want them DEAD! I want Sweden or America or whoever the hell is good with technology to study every second of this video to try to discover their location. I want to split open their heads and squeeze their brains until they're an incomprehensible mess of nothing. I. WANT. TO. KILL. THEM."

Suddenly tired, Lithuania allowed his body to lean into Poland's embrace.

"I know, Liet," he whispered, stroking the brunet's hair. "I want them dead, too."

When the only sounds in the room were Lithuania's muffled sobs, England finally spoke. "When the video ended, there was a message. It was for America."

"What did it say?" America rubbed his tear-filled eyes and stood up.

"Here, I'll play it again; it didn't make that much sense to me."

Lithuania finally looked up, not wanting to miss seeing some important information.

**We sincerely hope you enjoyed this latest installment of our little series. There are plenty more tests to be run on our stars. Since little Raivis is paralyzed at the moment, we wonder how his body would react to an amputation. Or, how about we cut out naughty Erikur's tongue? After all, he was so very rude to us during the last experiment. **

**However, I know you'd want your little friends back in one piece, so as long as America does what we say, we will not remove anything from our test subjects' bodies. **

**America, get the passcode for Folder 100 and write it down on a piece of paper. Tape it to your front door sometime before midnight next Friday (that is when someone will collect it). It is highly recommended that you do this. That is all.**

"Folder 100? Those bastards!" America punched the wall. "That contains highly classified government information! If I give it to these freaks, they could do some real damage to my country!"

"But if you don't, those scientists will hurt the Nations they captured." Norway stood up. "I will _not _have my _lillebroren _tortured! Not when there's a way around it."

"You don't think I know that? Peter's like a brother to me; I don't want to see him, or any of them, hurt! But I can't just give them the password to classified information, my boss would hit the roof!"

"You know, you could talk to your boss about this," Finland suggested. "He might have some ideas."

The tension between Norway and America faded, though a hint of it still remained. "Okay, I guess I can do that."

"Thank you." The reserved Nordic sat down.

Denmark finally spoke, the seriousness of his voice unnerving Lithuania. "We need to contact the other Nations. They need to know what's happening. We should call an emergency world meeting."

"I second that," Russia agreed, his voice icier than ever before.

One by one, the other Nations nodded, approving Denmark's idea.

"The next conference is at Germany's place, so I guess I should call him first," England mused aloud.

"I agree." Lithuania, who finally composed himself, stood up. "Until then, what should we do?"

"You're all free to stay here, unless you have duties at your homes," said Finland.

"Even if I did, some lousy paperwork is meaningless in a situation like this." Denmark cracked his neck.

"One more thing." Sweden's low voice made everyone turn to him. "We must notify the other micronations. They coul' be 'n danger, since they're so young."

The possibility of more child-Nations being taken hurt Lithuania's already broken heart. "I second that."

"Right. So that's the plan, then? We notify every Nation we can get ahold of and plan an emergency world meeting?" England asked.

"Ja." Sweden nodded.

"Let's hope this works," Poland muttered. "I never want to see one of those totally disgusting videos ever again."

_I hope so too, Feliks, _thought Lithuania. _But something tells me this isn't going to be the last one._

* * *

**And that's the end of this chapter. I know it was a little boring, but I needed to show what was going on with the other Nations, and what they were planning. **

**I hope everyone was in-character. (I know that Lithuania got REALLY angry in this chapter, but that's because his close friend was being tortured so brutally.)**

**Yes, Sweden and Finland live together, in this story, XD. (In my head-canon, they switch houses every six months: the first set in Sweden's house, and the second set in Finland's.) **

**Translations:**

**Perkele: This is a Finnish swear. I'm pretty sure it is equivalent to 'fuck', but I'm not 100% sure, XD.**

**Ne paskiaiset!: Those bastards! (Finnish)**

**Voi luoja!: Oh my God! (Finnish)**

**Viro: Estonia (Finnish)**

**Ei: No (Estonian)**

**Palun ei!: Please don't (Estonian) –This literally translates into 'please do not!', but the contraction flowed better. **

**Lillebroren: Little brother (Norwegian)**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter! **


	12. Chapter 11

**Hello! Welcome to Chapter 11!**

**I am very happy (and surprised) that the last chapter was a hit, XD. (It took forever to write, and I was so worried that certain characters were OOC.) **

**This chapter goes back to the four captured Nations. It will not contain any torture, though. (It will basically be Iceland, Estonia, and Sealand coping with the fact that Latvia is temporarily paralyzed, as well as Iceland reflecting on the fact that he is starting to have feelings for Latvia.) It will be shorter than the last one. **

**If anyone wants to draw fanart based on this story, go ahead! (It would be interesting to see, ^^'.) Just make sure you credit the story idea to me. **

**Many thanks go to everyone who reviewed and/or added this to their favorites/alerts list. You all are Prussia-level awesome! **

…**Is it bad that when I re-read the previous chapters of this story, I was making a list of tropes for them in my mind? (Curse you, TV Tropes; why must you be so addicting?)**

***Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya:**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Iceland held the rag under the faucet until it was completely wet. Turning the water off, he loosely wrung the small square of cloth, getting rid of some of the excess water. Sighing, he began the tedious task of washing Latvia, who lay unconscious on his lap. The boy hadn't moved for five days, which worried Iceland greatly. He was also completely silent: no whimpers, no cries, no delusions, nothing. This scared the Nordic boy even more.

Taking a deep breath, he continued his task. Making sure no water got into the incision, he gently washed Latvia's chest. Holding the rag under the faucet again, he repeated the process, this time washing the boy's legs. He inwardly winced when he noticed that the right one was healing a bit crookedly.

_You've gone through so much. _Iceland shook his head. _I can't even begin to imagine how much pain you're in. _He felt sick when he realized that he was the only one who hadn't felt pain during his 'experiment'.

Pushing that thought aside, he found himself staring at Latvia's body. Once all the blood was washed off of him, his skin looked almost too pale, like he was dead. Countless bruises stood out, the color contrasting harshly with the small Nation's porcelain-esque flesh. The incision on his chest was still puffy and pink, though the swelling continued to decrease.

However, the same could not be said for the incision on his scalp. When Iceland removed the bandages in order to clean Latvia's head, he found that the wound was swollen and red, and it oozed blood and pus.

Alarmed, he turned around. "Estonia? Could you come over here?"

Sensing the urgency in his voice, the bespectacled boy nodded and complied. "What happened?"

"Look at the cut."

Estonia did what he was told and he winced, clenching his fists. "It's infected. They didn't bother to stitch it up right again, either."

"What about his skull? I know they glued the piece back on, but do you think they messed that up, too?"

The blond pinched the bridge of his nose. "There's only one way to find out."

"You're not seriously thinking about reopening the incision, are you?" Iceland asked incredulously.

"For it to heal correctly, I need to re-stitch it anyways; I don't think it will do much harm to see if his skull is glued properly." He took a breath. "He's practically dead right now; he won't wake up any time soon."

"Don't say that!" Iceland snapped. He knew that Nations couldn't die (Latvia survived two torturous experiments, after all), but the word still sent shivers down his spine.

"Sealand?" Estonia called. "Could you bring me the first-aid kit?"

"Whatever." The micronation apathetically stood up and handed the small box to the bespectacled boy. His tone changed when he looked at Latvia. "What are you going to do?"

Estonia repeated his plan to the younger boy, who clenched his fists. "You better not hurt him."

Instead of walking back to his spot like Iceland thought he would do, he instead sat down next to Estonia.

The middle Baltic closed his eyes for a few moments before taking the needle and thread out of the kit, as well as a pair of scissors.

Gulping, he snipped the threads holding the wound together. Afterwards, he wiped the blood off of the incision and put on the pair of latex gloves that were thrown in the bottom of the box.

"Please be careful," Iceland warned, instinctively grabbing Latvia's limp hand. "One wrong move and…"

"I know. Just…be quiet." Estonia gently peeled the skin back, causing Sealand to cover his mouth and close his eyes. Once he was done studying the boy's exposed skull, he put his skin back into place. "For once, it looks like that bastard Fletcher did something properly." He peeled off the gloves and tossed them back into the box. "Hand me the needle and thread, please."

Iceland complied. He watched with an almost morbid fascination as Estonia carefully stitched up the wound. After what felt like an eternity, the last knot was tied, and everyone relaxed.

"Hopefully, that will speed up the healing, and ease some of his pain." Estonia closed his eyes, exhausted.

/

Three days had passed, and Iceland was beginning to worry. Latvia still hadn't made a sound, nor did he move. Since the boy was normally very vocal, especially when it came to pain, seeing him silent was very unnerving.

Before he knew it, Iceland found himself staring at the small Nation. His stomach flipped, though he wasn't sure why. _Must be nerves. I really hope he wakes up soon; it's been eight days. _The Icelander shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. _Worrying won't get me anywhere. Look at Estonia. _He turned his gaze on the older Baltic, who sat by Latvia's other side. His hands grasped the smaller boy's, and he was murmuring what was probably a song under his breath.

_He's losing it. _Iceland hated to see the normally reserved boy so distraught, but he didn't know what to say. He knew that Estonia didn't like being pitied and put in the spotlight. He decided to leave him alone, for now.

Instead, he went back to looking at Latvia. His face was as expressionless and still as a porcelain doll, and his body was unmoving. He didn't even see the rise and fall of the boy's chest, which frightened him even more. As he studied the small Nation, he picked up on some things he never noticed before. He didn't know if it was because they weren't given food regularly or if he had always been this underweight, but he could see that the youngest Baltic's shoulders were extremely bony, and the outlines of his ribs could be seen.

_He looks so breakable. _Iceland tentatively moved his hand until it hovered over his chest. He waited a few moments before gently placing it on his skin. At first, he couldn't feel anything, but after awhile, he could sense the boy's heartbeat (though it was still very faint and irregular). Relieved that he was showing some signs of life, Iceland let himself relax. Though he had no reason to keep staring at Latvia, he still did. He noticed that the younger boy had some obvious scars on his chest, and looked closer. One of them stood out from the rest, since it looked like a word rather than the mark of a whip. Since the incision cut vertically down the middle of his chest and torso, he couldn't see the full word. He made out some Cyrillic letters, but since he only knew Icelandic and English, he had no idea what it meant.

"It means 'property'."

Iceland looked up at Estonia, whose eyes were filled with sadness.

"Russia marked him with that years ago, when we were still under his control. Raivis still hasn't gotten over that, yet. Honestly, he still hasn't gotten over anything that happened during that time."

"How could Russia do that? He knows how Latvia is, and how his mind works!" Though his country was on good terms with the large Nation, he still felt a twinge of resentment towards him.

"I am not condoning what he did, hell, _I _still have nightmares occasionally, but Russia was not in his right mind during that time. Currently, he's the most stable he's ever been. But back then? He was, in the words of America, batshit insane." The bespectacled Nation sighed. "I know you probably want to know more, but I'm too tired to explain anything. I'm probably going to sleep soon."

"That's a good idea." Iceland himself was very tired. He glanced over to the other side of the room to find Sealand already asleep, his arms wrapped around himself.

"Erikur?"

Iceland looked back at Estonia, who had lied down. "Yes?"

"I know this is decades too late, but thanks for standing up for us, back then. It was nice to know that someone cared. Latvia was especially grateful. He's been wanting to thank you for awhile now, but was never able to build up the courage. He really looks up to you, you know."

_What? He looks up to me? _Iceland was planning on saying something back, but thought against it when he realized that Estonia was asleep. Closing his eyes, he reflexively moved closer to Latvia before lying down.

However, because of the new information he received, thoughts buzzed through the silver-haired Nation's head. Unable to sleep, he recalled the long-ago meeting that Estonia was referring to…

_Iceland stared blankly at the wall while France and England argued yet again. He was happy to be at the world meeting, but wished that the petty fighting would stop and the speakers were able to continue. When America joined the argument, the silver-haired boy rolled his eyes and gave up._

_Somehow, his gaze drifted over to the Eastern Bloc side of the table. Russia looked like he had a horrible hangover (which was probably true), and Hungary, Poland, and Prussia (who was now referred to as the GDR), three of the USSR's satellite states, looked thin, and their eyes were dark. Belarus and Ukraine sat next to each other, their lips pursed and their faces pale. However, the three Baltics looked the worst. All three—most notably Latvia—looked underweight. Lithuania sat at the edge of his chair, as though it hurt to have his back touching it, and Estonia had dark circles under his eyes, his hands shaking. Latvia sat on his lap, and this was the person Iceland found himself gawking (_no, discreetly glancing_, he told himself) at._

_The small blond's left arm was in a sling, and there were painful-looking burns on the side of his face and his lips._

_As soon as their eyes met, Latvia looked away, slightly shaking. As the meeting went on, Iceland noticed that Russia pulled the tiny boy off of Estonia's lap and onto his own, stroking his hair._

_Latvia said nothing, but Iceland saw that he was crying. For some reason, this caused anger to shoot through his body. _Why isn't anyone doing anything? Does no one care about him? They must have seen his arm and face; it's so obvious that Russia hurt him.

Shaking his head, Iceland quietly sighed. _I was so naïve back then. _Wanting to help, he organized a small meeting and tried to convince some of the larger Nations to free the Baltics from Russia. At the meeting, he learned that it was easier said than done, and helping the three oppressed Nations would have caused tensions—and possibly a war—to erupt.

Closing his eyes once more, he was pulled into another memory. This time, it was his first informal interaction with Latvia…

_Iceland let his mind wander as he walked down the long hallway. He was jolted back to reality when he felt someone knock into him._

_"I'm sorry," he said, looking to see who he ran into. He stifled a gasp when he realized it was Latvia._

_The shorter boy's eyes widened, tears filling them, and he wrung his hands. "N-no, that's okay, Mr. Iceland; I was being stupid and didn't look where I was going."_

What? _Iceland was shocked that the small blond, who was only a year younger than him, addressed him so formally. _He's acting as though he's inferior to me. _Suddenly, it dawned on him. _Russia probably made him think that he _was_ inferior to everyone else.

_That thought made Iceland drop his reserved nature for a second. Without thinking, he grabbed the youngest Baltic, pulling him into an embrace._

_At first, Latvia squirmed, but after a few seconds, he relaxed, burying his face in the Nordic boy's shirt._

_Suddenly, Iceland felt a stinging pain on the side of his face, and stumbled backwards. In the blink of an eye, Latvia was ripped from his grasp, eliciting a cry from the younger boy._

_The silver-haired boy looked up to see Russia pull Latvia towards him, his hand buried in the blond's thick hair._

_"The Latvian SSR is mine," he said coldly, looking at Iceland with contempt. "Stay away from him."_

_The Nordic Nation could only watch as the sobbing boy was dragged away by his hair._

Iceland shuddered, his eyes snapping open. He hated feeling so helpless, that he couldn't do anything to protect the ones he cared for. Though the Soviet Union had been dissolved long ago, the weak feeling still remained, especially after Fletcher's last 'experiment'.

_Wait. 'Cared for'? Do I…care for…Latvia? _The weird feeling in his stomach returned. _Of course I do! He's my friend! _Another part of his brain added, _Maybe even more than that. _Sitting up, Iceland held his head in his hands. _What am I saying? _He shook his head, blaming all the emotions he was feeling on seeing Latvia being tortured first-hand, yet being unable to help. _Of course I'd treat him especially gently after all he's been through. It's common sense!_

He was snapped back into reality when he felt Latvia shift. "Raivis?" he whispered.

"Erikur?" Latvia whispered back.

"Guði sé lof!" Iceland gently embraced the younger boy, his eyes watering. He noticed that Latvia was struggling to return the embrace, so he carefully maneuvered the boy's arms around him.

"'M sorry," he said, looking downward. "Still hard for me to move and speak."

"It's okay." Iceland was just happy that the small Nation was able to function semi-properly. Before his mind could process what his body was doing, he softly placed a hand on the side of Latvia's shaved head. When he looked at his friend's expression, he noticed that he looked a bit…nervous. He had no idea what was going to happen until it was too late. Before he could blink, Latvia moved his head closer, brushing his lips against Iceland's.

Electricity jolted through the Nordic boy's body. He was so surprised that he almost dropped Latvia. After a few moments, however, the smaller boy quickly pulled away, his eyes filling with tears.

"Piedod! Don't know what came over me! I was out of line! I ruined our friendship!" Hanging his head, Latvia sobbed.

This in turn woke up Estonia and Sealand, whose eyes lit up.

"Raivis!" Both Nations embraced the boy, literally crying with happiness. When it was Iceland's turn, Latvia stiffened.

"It's okay," the older boy whispered in his ear. "You didn't ruin our friendship, don't worry. I'll always be here for you, Raivis."

Discreetly nodding, Latvia relaxed, resting his head in the crook of Iceland's neck. "Thanks."

After awhile, he weakly grabbed his head, whimpering slightly. "Head hurts! Really bad! Want to go home!"

"I know." In a moment of spontaneity, Iceland, who still embraced Latvia, softly kissed his forehead.

The smaller Nation stiffened before relaxing. Iceland gently lowered himself to the floor, his arms still around Latvia. Sealand wrapped his arms around the boy as well, crying into his shoulder. Estonia embraced the micronation, his long arms making it possible for one of them to reach Iceland, the other wrapped around Sealand.

Fatigue finally hitting him, Iceland fell asleep, the feeling of Latvia's kiss still on his lips.

* * *

**And the plot thickens! This is my first time writing romance, especially with Latvia, so it's probably horrible…**

**I really, really hope Iceland is in-character. (I always feel so nervous when I post a chapter that focuses on him and his thoughts.)**

**Sealand might not be doing much now, but he'll play a bigger part later. **

**Iceland's flashbacks are actually part of another fanfic I wrote. (It's called 'Snap'.) If those parts sounded familiar, that's why, XD. The scars on Latvia's chest are a reference to the ones he recieved in 'Clouded Consciousness', another story of mine. (This story is in the same universe.)**

**As for the relationship between Latvia and Iceland, no, they are not 'together' yet. They won't be for a long time. Latvia kissed Iceland for the simple fact that he was so happy to see his friend. (However, you will learn later that Latvia does have feelings for Iceland.)**

**Speaking of Iceland, he's so awkward, isn't he? –Hugs him- I made him that way on purpose, just because I don't think he has a lot of experience interacting with people. **

**Translations:**

**Guði sé lof!: Thank God! (Icelandic)**

**Piedod: Sorry (Latvian) *Thank you, xArchivex, for the correction! :D ***

**Fletcher isn't going to be happy with this, that's for sure…**

**I hope this chapter wasn't too big of a fail…**


	13. Chapter 12

**Welcome to Chapter Twelve! (I seriously never expected to make it this far; I didn't think this story would be liked so much…)**

**Though this chapter doesn't involve any torture, there will be a…squicky…scene. It is nothing too horrible or explicit, don't worry, but I just wanted to warn you now, so it won't shock you. **

**A big thank-you goes out to everyone who reviewed and/or added this to their favorites/alerts lists!**

**A very special thank-you goes to the awesome Shadowraven45662, for drawing the cover photo for this story.**

**Sorry this is so late! Writer's block sucks! D:**

…**So, has anyone been keeping up with the Olympics? Latvia beat America at beach volleyball, today, WOOT! (I am such a bad American; I cheered for Latvia, XDD.)**

***Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya***

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Iceland woke to Latvia tightly clinging to him, shivering. He gently shook the boy awake, wanting to know what was wrong.

"Cold," was all he said.

Iceland wanted to slap himself for forgetting that Latvia was naked. After washing him, he took his hospital gown back, not wanting to injure the smaller boy more by putting it back on. Gently guiding the short Nation into a sitting position, he slipped off the gown and put it on his friend.

"I know it's thin, but hopefully, it will be a bit warmer, since I've been wearing it."

"Thanks," the small Nation murmured, curling up against Iceland once more. The extra body heat caused his eyes to close, and he found himself asleep once more.

The next time he woke up, Estonia was standing over him, a plate of crackers in his hand. "They threw some food in while you two were sleeping. I didn't want to wake you, but you need to eat to be strong."

He felt Latvia stiffen, instantly understanding the hidden meaning behind Estonia's words. _You need to be strong in case you're tortured again. _He gently squeezed the boy's hand and helped him into a sitting position. Since it was still difficult for him to move his limbs, Iceland took Latvia's two crackers and fed them to him slowly. Afterwards, he ate his own share.

"I-Iceland?" Latvia quietly asked. "What's going to happen to us?"

This was the question Iceland was dreading. He and Estonia had discussed it while the younger boys were asleep. "I…I don't know," he finally said. This wasn't exactly the truth, but it wasn't a straight-up lie, either.

"They're going to hurt us until we can't function anymore, aren't they."

This wasn't a question. Suddenly overcome by a wave of emotion, Iceland hugged Latvia tightly to his chest. After the feeling left him, he let his arms drop to his sides, embarrassed by the (albeit brief) loss of his composure. He instead focused on Sealand, who was pacing the cell, mumbling something under his breath.

After awhile, that got boring, so he turned his gaze to Estonia. The bespectacled Nation noticed this, and walked over to him.

"I've been doing some calculations in my head," he said. "We've been here for around three weeks."

"What?" _Only three weeks? _Iceland screamed in his mind. To him, it felt like years.

Estonia opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off when the door slammed open, hitting the wall with a startling crash. The two female scientists from the previous 'visit' entered the room, smirking.

"Erikur. Raivis. We need to have a…conversation…with you," the blonde said.

Iceland could feel Latvia squirm, his tiny body automatically tensing up. He wrapped his arms around the younger boy and held him close, his eyes narrowing in silent anger.

The other woman, who was less patient, stalked over to them and dragged them both to their feet. While Iceland stayed standing when she let go, Latvia's semi-healed legs buckled, sending him to the ground. Estonia caught him before he could fall completely, though Iceland could hear the boy's cries of pain and fear. "Leave him alone!" he spat.

"Look, you're not going to get experimented on today. We just want to ask you two a few questions."

Something in the blonde's voice unnerved Iceland. He narrowed his eyes at the scientist, not willing to comply.

"If you don't come with us, we could always get Fletcher in here. I'm sure he'd just love another chance to experiment on Raivis." The raven-haired woman smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes.

At the mention of the head scientist's name, Latvia whimpered, burying his face in the crook of Estonia's neck.

"Fine," the Nordic boy finally said, clenching his fists. "We'll go."

"Iceland, no!" Sealand shouted. "Don't listen to h—" He was slapped across the face by the blonde, silencing him.

Not wanting either of the scientists touching Latvia, Iceland gently picked him up and followed the women out of the cell, walking down the hallway until they reached an area with a bench.

"Please, sit."

Iceland knew it was an order, so he complied, setting Latvia down next to him.

"He won't be needing this," said the blonde, literally ripping the hospital gown from Latvia's body. He whimpered and blushed, trying his best to cover his lower regions.

"Oh please." The other scientist rolled her eyes, adjusting the strange hairclip she wore. "You don't have anything I haven't seen before. Plus," she looked down, causing Iceland's stomach to squirm. "I've seen much bigger."

Latvia blushed again, tears of what Iceland assumed to be embarrassment escaping the corners of his eyes.

"Who are you, and what do you want?"

"I am Strike," the blonde said. "And this is Rodriguez." She pointed to the other woman. "We noticed that you and Raivis have feelings for each other," Iceland didn't like the look in her eyes, "so Fletcher sent us to give you two a little lesson in romance."

"What?" The older boy's stomach clenched even more.

"But before that," Rodriguez added. "We wanted to see how your bodies have changed since you entered this facility."

Strike nodded, intensely scrutinizing both of their bodies. She turned to Rodriguez. "Erikur is pretty much superior to Raivis in every way. Both are becoming malnourished, but Erikur still has some muscle. Raivis is all skin and bones, and everything about him seems underdeveloped. It seems like Iceland has a better personification than Latvia. Maybe that's why Latvia's economy is going downhill again, while Iceland's is slowly increasing; Latvia's personification might be faulty, or an anomaly. We must ask Fletcher about this later."

_Stop it! _Iceland could see that each word was splintering Latvia's already broken spirit into more pieces. _You're equal to me, Raivis. Don't believe them. _But he knew in his heart that Latvia did, and was used to being belittled.

"Now!" Strike clapped her hands. "It's time for the fun part!" She turned to Iceland. "Erikur!" she barked. "Kiss Raivis!"

"What?" Iceland clenched his fists. "No!"

"Oh come on," jeered Rodriguez. "You've done it before; what's the big deal?"

"I will not kiss him!" It wasn't so much the action that disgusted him; it was the fact that he would be kissing Latvia in front of two of the scientists who were responsible for torturing them.

"Erikur." Strike leaned down, whispering into his ear. "You _will _do what we say, otherwise Fletcher will make this much worse for little Raivis. Understood?"

Swallowing the bile that made its way into his throat, Iceland nodded. He gently wrapped his arms around Latvia, pulling him close. "Raivis," he murmured, "I'm so sorry." Closing his eyes, he leaned forward and pressed their lips together. He felt Latvia tense, and he resisted the urge to vomit.

"Good!" He could hear Strike clap her hands. "Now," she instructed, "push your tongue between his lips."

Surprised, Iceland broke the kiss. "No! Why?" He reflexively pulled Latvia closer.

"You need to learn how to treat him in the bedroom, of course. He lived with Russia for a long time, right? He must like it rough."

Iceland felt Latvia's tears on his chest, and a wave of anger hit him. "Shut up! You're both disgusting perverts!"

"Remember what I said, Erikur?" Strike smirked, tapping her feet. "I can get Fletcher, if you want."

Latvia whimpered again, which broke Iceland's heart. "Fine," he whispered.

"Let's try this again," stated Rodriguez. "Kiss him again, and this time, use tongue."

"Fine." Iceland pushed his lips against Latvia's once more, this time hesitantly brushing his tongue against the younger Nation's lower lip. Latvia scrunched his eyes shut and refused to open his mouth.

"Raivis!" Strike hissed. "Open your mouth! Or do you want me to cut out _your _tongue?"

Latvia shook his head, trembling.

_This is too much for him, too fast. I'm hurting him by doing this. _

"Well," Rodriguez smirked again. "Maybe he _does _like it rough. Bite his lip."

His eyes watering, Iceland complied, biting Latvia's lower lip as gently as he could.

Gasping, Latvia reflexively opened his mouth. Taking the chance, Iceland slipped his tongue in. Lost as to what to do now, he repeated what he saw people do when they kissed in movies. Latvia continued to shake and whimper, his tears wetting Iceland's cheeks.

When he couldn't take any more, he pulled his mouth away, gagging. He saw that Latvia curled himself up against the bench, his eyes unfocused. He touched his now-swollen lips and cried more when he felt how puffy they were.

"That was pathetic, but it will do for now." Strike shook her head. "Let's try something…bolder."

Before Iceland could decipher what she meant, the scientist tightly grabbed his wrist. He didn't even have time to prepare himself for what happened next. He found his hand in between Latvia's legs, grabbing something that he _never _wanted to touch. The boy cried out, this time his voice sounding more like a scream than a whimper. Adrenaline pumped through his veins and he broke free from the woman's grasp, slapping her across the face. "You sick _tík_!" he sputtered, still half-speechless. He protectively embraced Latvia, who surprisingly returned it, shaking more severely than before.

"Oh come on, you should be thanking me." Strike shook her head. "I bet that turned you both on, so you'll be ready for the next step."

Ice filled Iceland's body. "Next step?"

"Of course! What kind of romantic relationship doesn't have sex? You're lucky, Erikur; Raivis's small body and unwillingness will add to the experience."

"No!" Latvia frantically murmured into his chest. "Please no! Everything's moving too fast! I don't want to…"

Iceland rubbed Latvia's back comfortingly. Suddenly, he grabbed the younger boy and ran as fast as he could back towards the cell. He made it to right outside the door before he fell to his knees, emptying the contents of his stomach onto the floor. When he finally got himself to stop coughing, he shifted Latvia to one arm, testing the doorknob in the other. Surprisingly, it opened, much to Iceland's relief. He ran into the familiar room, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Iceland?" Estonia asked, alarm in his voice. "What happened? Why is Latvia naked?"

Iceland just shook his head, sinking to the ground and cradling Latvia in his arms. He couldn't find the words to express what just occurred. He still felt nauseous, and didn't want to risk vomiting up bile if he opened his mouth.

"Latvia?" Estonia prompted.

"Not Iceland's fault," he rasped, tears spilling from his eyes. "Don't be mad at him."

"What happened?" The bespectacled Nation's voice got harsher. "Tell me!"

"He kissed me. They made him do it, saying that they'd get Fletcher to hurt me if he didn't. Please don't yell at him; it wasn't his fault."

Estonia pulled Latvia into a hug, whispering what sounded like kind words in Estonian into his ear.

"What's the big deal? Papa and Mama kiss my forehead all the time!" Sealand asked, tilting his head. "They also kiss each other, and they look happy. Iceland's a friend; why is Latvia so scared?"

Iceland wanted to cry at Sealand's innocence. This encounter showed him how close Latvia was to losing his, and it scared him tremendously.

Suddenly, he felt something warm next to him, and realized that the micronation embraced him. "What?"

"You're crying, Iceland."

The silver-haired Nation brought a hand to his face and realized that Sealand was right. He tried to stop the tears, but he couldn't. That scared him even more.

/

Lithuania opened his inbox and saw that he had a new email. It was from an address that he didn't recognize, so he was confused as to who sent it. He clicked on it anyways, pushing Estonia's warnings about viruses out of his mind. When it opened, it was blank, with a video attached to it. Now very curious, he opened it. What he saw made him sick.

_Why are they doing this to him? _His blood boiled when he saw the blonde scientist grab Iceland's hand and force it between Latvia's legs. The scream that tore from the younger boy's throat pierced his heart.

_Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no. _His stomach churned. _Please. Please tell me that they don't force Iceland to… _He couldn't even bear to think the words. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding when Iceland scooped up Latvia in his arms and took off running.

_"Interesting," _the scientist with the camera said. _"This didn't break the two apart like Fletcher hoped."_

_ "Don't worry," _the blonde replied, smirking. _"There are other ways. But Fletcher must be informed."_

The first scientist removed the camera from wherever it was clipped and held it so that Lithuania could see her face. _"Lithuania, I hope you found that to be as…exciting…as we thought it was. Raivis is just so easy to take advantage of, isn't he? Tell America that if he doesn't follow our request, a lot more can happen to little Raivis and the others than just scientific experimentation." _She took a breath. _"Norway, while we perused Iceland's file more in-depth, we discovered your email address, as well as the fact that you are his biological brother. Because of his failure to follow our orders, he will be severely punished. I just wanted to let you know." _

Suddenly, the video went black. Sick to his stomach, Lithuania stumbled out of his room and jerkily ran to the bathroom. He fell to his knees and retched, coughing up everything that was in his stomach. Even when there was nothing more, he still heaved, the video replaying over and over in his mind. _Dievas! Since Iceland didn't do it, what if someone else does? _The image of his small friend being brutally assaulted forced its way into his mind, and he retched even more, though there was nothing left in his stomach to expel. _Why can't I be with them? They _need _me! Why? _Before he knew it, sobs tore from his throat.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around, blinking the tears out of his eyes. "Norway?"

The former Viking's eyes were hard, and his mouth was set in a grim line. "We need to talk."

* * *

**And that's the end of this…dramatic(?) chapter.**

**This is about as squicky as it will get. I will say that the sexual content will not get worse than this. I guarantee it doesn't. So if this chapter was uncomfortable to read, don't worry; it will be the only chapter of its kind.**

**-Ahem- Now that that's out of the way, I hope this was written adequately. I am not used to writing content like this, so I hope it wasn't a complete fail. (I also hope that Iceland was in-character…) My head-canon is that Iceland hasn't gotten his first kiss yet, so he would be very new to the concept. (Which is why he copied what he saw in movies in the scene where he had to kiss Latvia.)**

**So, do you hate Strike and Rodriguez as much as Fletcher, yet? XDD**

**Translations:**

**Tík: bitch (Icelandic)**

**Dievas: God (Lithuanian)**

**Thanks for reading, and I hoped you enjoyed the chapter! I'm sorry it took so long; laziness and writer's block kicked in, X'D. **


	14. Author's Note

**Hello! After a long hiatus, I am happy to let you know that I have finally gotten more inspiration for TWL! I have just been getting so many reviews that have made my day, and watching Beautiful World with its beautiful animation, so I am getting back into Hetalia. **

**Since I have a lot of papers to work on, as well as studying for upcoming finals, so the next chapter won't be posted until the semester is over, but I just wanted to let all you know that the next chapter is being outlined and brainstormed. **

**Thank you for all of the support; I am so glad people still like this story so much! **


	15. Chapter 13

**Welcome to Chapter Thirteen! Can you believe I posted the prologue to this story a year ago?**

**I apologize for the almost ten-month delay; my second year of college was a lot harder than I thought it would be. This was also a hard year for me in terms of being sick; my chronic bronchitis acted up a lot, meaning I sometimes felt too sick to write. I also lost interest in the Hetalia fandom for almost a semester, but I am back, now~ However, for the delay, sumimasen, piedod, gomen, sorry, XDD. **

**A big thank-you goes out to everyone who reviewed! You all are awesome!**

**This chapter is shorter than its predecessors, but I need to get back into the swing of writing this, XD. **

**Also, if you like dark, historical fics and Nyotalia, read my newest Hetalia fanfic 'Grey'. It is a post WWII fic staring fem!Germany. (Haha, it feels weird promoting my own story…) **

***Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya***

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Lithuania followed Norway back to his room. He knew that he looked awful; his hair was disheveled, his eyes were swollen and puffy from crying, etc., but he didn't care. The video he just watched kept playing over and over again in his mind, though he focused on Latvia's terrified face. _To put him through that, those people are true monsters. _

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Norway gestured for him to sit down. "I take it you got a video in your email, too?"

Lithuania just nodded.

"How could they?" the Nordic man's eyes were steely. "Iceland will break soon if this goes on any longer. And Latvia? The poor kid's probably been broken too many times to be fixed. If they target him more, I'm guessing that he won't be able to function properly, both physically and emotionally."

"I know." The thought of the timid Nation confined to a bed for eternity made Lithuania want to vomit again, though there was nothing left in his stomach.

"And that video. Those people are disgusting." Norway looked like he was ready to murder someone. "That Fletcher man has an obsession with all four of them, Latvia especially, have you noticed? The way he looks at him..."

Ice ran through Lithuania's veins. He had been trying to convince himself that scientific experimentation was the worst torture that Latvia could endure, but after this latest video, he wasn't so sure. And that terrified him. "Yes," he finally stated. "I've noticed." Deflating in his chair, he looked down at his shaking hands. "Nikolai, I'm scared for Raivis. If America doesn't give them the information, Fletcher might…" He dry-heaved at the mere thought, coughing until his throat burned. "What if they send us a video of it? I don't think I could take seeing Raivis being…" He gripped his shirt, trying to stop his hands from shaking. "What if Fletcher makes the others watch? What if—"

A slap across the face stopped him mid-sentence. "Toris. Stop. You are going to kill yourself with all the worrying."  
"I can't help it!" Lithuania spat, the tears he was trying so hard to keep at bay spilling from his eyes. "I should be there with them! But no! Instead, I'm here, _watching _them suffer! You have no idea how much this is killing me!"

"You don't think I know that?" Norway's voice took on a low, murderous tone. "They have Erikur too, remember. Do _not _assume that I am not going through what you are. Erikur might be more composed than Latvia, but with each video, I can see more of him shattering. You think you're the only one suffering? Think of Tino and Berwald, and even Arthur. Not to mention every single other Nation involved." He paused for a moment, his eyes softening. "You don't have to suffer alone, Toris. We will all try to free them. Together."

Lithuania nodded, wiping away his tears. He took a few shuddering breaths before straightening his shoulders and smoothing his shirt. "You're right. But this video… It really got to me."

"I know. It hurt me, too."

"And what video might this be?"

Both Nations whirled around, startled. "Russia?"

"I asked you a question, _Litva_." The tall Nation's voice was icy.

On instinct, Lithuania bowed his head. "I apologize, Russia, sir." When he looked up, he saw an almost unreadable emotion in his former tormentor's eyes.

"You were crying."

Lithuania blushed, hating the fact that his face was still wet with a few stray tears.

"If the video shows one of the little ones being tortured more, the rest of the group needs to see it. What if there is more information for America at the end?"

"There isn't," the brunet spat. "And no one else will see this video."

"And why is that? I don't think any scientific procedure would be worse than seeing little Raivis cut open like a corpse."

"This wasn't a scientific procedure, Russia."

Lithuania could see the wheels turning in the large Nation's head. When his cold eyes widened, he shrank back into the chair, knowing full well the extent of Russia's anger.

"They didn't." Though the lavender-eyed Nation's words were quiet, they were covered in a malicious tone. "They wouldn't be that barbaric." Russia pinched the bridge of his nose. "It was Latvia, wasn't it? That's why it hurt you so much. Those scientists took his innocence to get us to follow their demands, and they _filmed _it." Lithuania swore that the air got significantly colder, and the aura around Russia got darker. "Was it Fletcher, or was it the man who tortured Sealand? Who. Did. It. I need to know!" The large Nation towered over Lithuania, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him.

"Russia. _Ivan. _Enough." Lithuania nearly sighed in relief when Norway intervened. "The video, while horrific, is not as bad as you think. Latvia has not been…taken…by Fletcher, or any of the other scientists. At least not yet."

Russia nodded, letting go of Lithuania. He stumbled to another chair, his hands slightly shaking. "Can I see the video, at least?"

Norway and Lithuania looked at each other, debating silently. In the end, Norway closed his eyes and nodded.

"Fine," the slender brunet responded. "You can watch it."

Norway pulled up the email on his laptop and clicked on the attachment, his lips pursed in a narrow line. Shaking his head, he sat at his desk, clenching his fists.

As the video played, Lithuania's anger and disgust returned tenfold. He dug his nails into his palms in order to distract him from crying.

_"He lived with Russia for a long time, right? He must like it rough," _Strike, the blonde scientist, jeered, smirking.

Russia paused the video, the murderous aura returning around him. "_Suka! _How could she think that I…?" He whirled around to face Lithuania, his eyes, for once, pleading. "I may have hurt all of you, but I would never…!"

"I know." The smaller Nation placed a hand on Russia's shoulder. "You are not a monster, but these, these _scientists _are!"

Nodding slowly, Russia unpaused the video.

_"Shut up! You're both disgusting perverts!" Iceland yelled, protectively embracing Latvia._

_ "Remember what I said, Erikur?" Strike smirked, tapping her feet. "I can get Fletcher, if you want."_

_ Latvia whimpered again. "Fine," the Nordic boy whispered._

_ "Let's try this again," stated Rodriguez. "Kiss him again, and this time, use tongue."_

_ "Fine." Iceland pushed his lips against Latvia's once more, this time hesitantly brushing his tongue against the younger Nation's lower lip. Latvia scrunched his eyes shut and refused to open his mouth._

_ "Raivis!" Strike hissed. "Open your mouth! Or do you want me to cut out your tongue?"_

_ Latvia shook his head, trembling. _

"Why are they doing this? Latvia and Iceland have done nothing!" Lithuania hated how distressed Russia sounded.

"I think it's because they like having power over all of them," Lithuania guessed.

As the video went on, Russia's expression turned icier than before. When he saw Strike force Iceland's hand between Latvia's legs, he stood up, not bothering to pause the video. "They are dead. No, they are worse than dead. When I got my hands on them, they'll wish to be killed quickly! They do not deserve any mercy!" He would have punched the computer screen, but Norway grabbed it just in time.

"America needs to get that information," Russia said softly. "I am afraid that if he doesn't, Latvia really will be taken. I don't think I could bear it if that is the next video sent…"

Lithuania looked up when he heard Russia's voice break at the end of the sentence. When their eyes met, the smaller Nation realized that his former tormentor was crying. Without thinking, he got up and embraced the taller man. Russia stiffened at first, but then relaxed, returning the embrace. Being hugged by Russia was strange at first, but after thinking of the video, he didn't care.

"We'll find them." Norway's voice was cold.

"I know," Lithuania whispered. After a few moments of silence, the three left to go downstairs, to let the others know the newest information. They agreed not to show the video, to respect Latvia and Iceland, but they knew that the others needed to know what happened, just so they knew exactly what sort of people they were dealing with.

"Ready?" Lithuania looked to Norway.

"No. But for their sake, I have to be."

* * *

**Ugh, I know this chapter sucks, and I bet it wasn't worth the ten-month wait, X'D. However, I am getting back into the swing of writing this, so the next few chapters might be pretty short, ^^'. **

**Hopefully Russia and Norway aren't too OOC, here. (Especially Russia. This is the first time I've written his sweet/conflicted side.) **

**Haha, Russia is so insulted when Strike assumes that he had some forced romantic relationship with Latvia during the USSR era. (Poor Russia…-hugs him-) **

**Lithuania is such a worrywart, XDD. **

**Poor Norway is just sort of…there…in this chapter. Though, he is the voice of reason, I guess…**

**Hopefully, this wasn't too horrible…**

**Haha, I prefer the name 'Nikolai' for Norge's human name instead of the more-popular Lukas, XDD. **

**Translations:  
_Litva: _Lithuania (Russian)  
_Suka: _Bitch (Russian)**


	16. Chapter 14

**Welcome to Chapter Fourteen~ (I can't believe I even made it this far; originally, this was supposed to be a pretty short story, XD.)**

**People were wondering when Iceland would have his turn to be tortured. Well, the wait is over; prepare for some Iceland-angst, X'D. It will be pretty intense (but I doubt it can compare to Latvia being vivisected…). **

**This chapter will be longer than its predecessor. It is mostly Iceland-centric, so if you like him, yay~ **

**I went to ACen last week; I was Deidara (from Naruto) on Friday, Estonia on Saturday, and Sasori (also from Naruto) on Sunday. I'm just wondering if anyone who reads this went. X'D. **

**Many thanks go to everyone who reviewed!**

**Special thanks go to **_**Nordics4Life, **_**who drew cute chibis of Iceland and Latvia for this story! You are so awesome~ (If you want to see the picture, go to her deviantart account, which is _GamerGirl829_.) **

***Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya. Not me.* **

* * *

**Chapter 14**

"So…" Crowley began, taking a seat. "Your project is going well, I presume?"

"Well, yes and no." Stanfield nervously adjusted his tie.

"What does that mean, Stanfield?"

Fletcher glared at his subordinate. "In terms of the experiments, the results are positive. We have tested all of the Nations, some multiple times, and we have a pretty good idea of how they work inside. However, there were some differences. It took Iceland and Estonia longer to pass out than it did for Sealand and Latvia to. Iceland surprisingly seems to be the strongest in terms of their immune systems, especially since he seems to get colds easily, while Latvia seems the weakest. In fact, the personification of Latvia seems to be an anomaly in every way. While he and Estonia shared the same fate during the Soviet Union, Latvia did not recover as successfully. He is thinner than Sealand, who is a micronation, and less healthy. He shakes constantly, and is more sensitive to pain than the others."

"Do you think it was because you targeted him the most during your experiments?" Katya narrowed her eyes.

"Estonia was also, in your words, Tegleva, 'cruelly tortured', and he is healing faster," Fletcher retorted.

"But you only burned him!" the Russian woman countered. "You damaged Raivis's heart, lungs, and brain; of course he's going to be healing slower! You should be glad that he isn't completely nonfunctioning!"

Fletcher was about to respond, but Crowley cut him off. "I get that your experiments are going well. But what about any information for the Sunrise Party?"

"I was getting to that." Fletcher glared at Katya. "America sent us some information, but the passcode for Folder 100 has not been acquired yet. Even after we threatened to hurt one of our subjects, that oaf still hasn't sent it to us! Some hero he is…"

"I see," Crowley answered coldly. "So that is what Stanfield meant. What information did you manage to get?"

"Well, sir." Schramm stood up, his eyes cold. "It's not much, but I think it's still helpful." He opened his briefcase and carefully grabbed a small piece of paper. "It gives the names and addresses of influential congressmen and other people with higher positions in the government." He handed the paper to Crowley.

"You're right. This isn't much, but it can still be helpful. Maybe some of these people can be…persuaded…to instate a few of the Sunrise Party's ideals. However, Folder 100 is indispensable to our plan."

"Should I up the ante of the experimentation?" Fletcher's eyes gleamed.

Crowley raised an eyebrow at Fletcher's enthusiasm. "Go ahead. Do whatever you want; as long as America complies, you can marry one of them for all I care."

The head scientist licked his lips, a gesture that was caught by Katya, who wrinkled her nose. _There's got to be a way I can help them… _

"I just had one question."

"Yes, Mr. Crowley?" Fletcher's grin widened.

"What are you planning on doing once the year's up? You can't let them go back to their countries. And since they can't die, killing them will be impossible, meaning there's no way we can dispose of them."

"Oh, I think I found a way. According to little Latvia, Nations' organs and appendages can't grow back. If need be, I'm guessing we can cut their limbs off, remove their organs, and bury the pieces. Or we can crush them."

Katya winced, the image in her mind not pleasant. _I need to get them out of here. This is barbaric!_

"I do have one request, though," Fletcher continued. "If possible, can I keep Latvia after the year is over? Despite his weakness, he is…intriguing. The others are what I expected. But Latvia? There are countless tests that can be done to study him. And since he is the weakest, restraining him would be very easy. If needed, I can take the others too, but if I had to choose one, it would be Latvia."

Imagining the small Nation in Fletcher's 'care' for years made Katya's heart hurt. The more she listened to her 'boss' speak, the more she felt sickened. _I don't want Raivis alone with him. Maybe I can convince him to experiment in pairs. _She didn't want to see the others hurt, but something in her gut told her that if Fletcher was alone with the timid blond, something horrible—more horrible than before—would happen.

She was snapped back to reality when Crowley spoke. "Do you think another experiment will convince America?"

"I do." Fletcher smirked. "And I have a few that I think will do the job. Iceland hasn't been very cooperative with us. I think it's time he learns his place. And since we have America's email address, I have the perfect idea. Let's make this show live…"

* * *

Iceland worriedly looked at Latvia, who was curled up in the farthest corner of the room. The small Nation refused to eat anything, much to the others' dismay. To Iceland's relief, Latvia was not scared of him, nor did Estonia blame him. Sealand still didn't understand why a kiss would ever terrify Latvia so much, but none of the older Nations would explain it to him. Surprisingly, he didn't ask about it again. It had been five days since the terrifying incident, and Iceland and Estonia diligently kept guard, waiting for Fletcher or one of the other scientists to appear. The two made a pact that the next time Latvia was going to be experimented on, one of them would go with him. Neither trusted the scientists—especially not Fletcher, Strike, or Rodriguez—and they didn't want Latvia alone with them.

After hours of watching the door, Iceland's eyes began to droop. The lack of rest was taking its toll on him, and before he knew it, he fell asleep. He was jolted awake when the door was thrown open, banging against the wall. His stomach churned when Fletcher strode into the room, emerald eyes narrowed, with Strike and Schramm trailing behind him. Without a word, he grabbed the back of Iceland's neck and yanked him to his feet. Strike buried her hand in Estonia's hair while Schramm grabbed a semi-awake Sealand.

"You three are coming with us," Fletcher hissed, his voice dangerously low.

Latvia, who was still in the corner, pressed himself against the wall, his eyes terrified. When Iceland looked at him, he noticed that the smaller Nation mouthed his name, tears sliding down his face.

Iceland felt the pressure on his neck disappear, and realized that Fletcher let him go.

"Don't think I would leave you out, Raivis," Fletcher sneered. Reaching into a bag he had draped across one shoulder, he pulled out a heavy-looking collar and fastened it around Latvia's neck. "It won't do anything now, but you'll feel its effects later. Plus," he wiped the tears off his face, "it makes you look like what you are. Someone's pet, always submissive."

Iceland could see Latvia's face blush with embarrassment, and saw more tears spill from his eyes. "Leave him alone!" he spat.

"Feisty, aren't you, Erikur?" The hand on the Nordic boy's neck with back, the pressure of it increasing. "I'll have to fix that." Without a warning, he began to walk swiftly, dragging Iceland with him. After he locked the door, he walked down the hallway. Schramm and Strike went the opposite directions, each one dragging their terrified victims.

Iceland began resisting when they were halfway down the hallway. He could smell the antiseptic, and it unnerved him. However, Fletcher's grip was iron, and all his writhing only made it harder for him to breathe. When they finally made it to the room Fletcher was looking for, Iceland was tossed to the ground. His head hit the edge of the lab table, disorienting him. When he became coherent, it was too late to escape. Fletcher was somehow able to pick him up and slam him onto the table. His head hit the cold metal again, and his vision blurred. Before he could bite his lip, he whimpered.

"Oh, so Ice Prince Erikur can feel pain? I am shocked." Fletcher smirked, slapping the back of the boy's head, right where the he made the incision merely two weeks before. Tears pricked Iceland's eyes, and he blushed, embarrassed that he finally let his cold façade slip.

"So it hurts? I thought you would be healed by now." Another slap made the room spin, black spots dancing across his vision. When he could see again, he realized that he was restrained.

"What does Raivis see in you?" Fletcher murmured, more to himself than to Iceland. "You're just the run-of-the-mill pretty boy who is more interested in himself than others."

Offended, Iceland was going to respond angrily. However, a knock at the door interrupted him.

"Ah. My assistants must be here. Right on time." Fletcher strode over to the door and unlocked it, letting Stanfield, Katya, and Rodriguez enter. While the first two looked like they didn't want to be there, the last sent a wolfish smile in Iceland's direction.

"So it's finally Erikur's turn?" She smirked. "It's a shame that Raivis isn't here to see this."

"I think him being left alone in the dark, both literally and figuratively, was a better option for him. Plus, he will share in some of Erikur's pain later. And as for Erikur himself," he raised an eyebrow at the Icelander, "he was just so disrespectful to you and Ms. Strike, wasn't he?"

"Heh, that's right. He was so disobedient."

"I hope you know that we have been favoring you up until now, Erikur. Not anymore." Fletcher stroked his face, a gesture that unnerved Iceland greatly. Turning to Stanfield, he barked. "All right. Stanfield, turn the camera on. Tegleva, attach the electrodes. Rodriguez, add the extra restraints."

_Electrodes? Extra restraints? _Confused thoughts raced through Iceland's aching head. _What's happening? _He felt something cold being attached to the skin on his arms, legs, stomach, and chest, and he winced, afraid of what was going to happen to him.

"According to the video feed, you're watching this, America," Fletcher began. "Before we start, I want to let you know that this wouldn't be happening to poor Erikur if you just cooperated with us. But since you didn't, you get to see this boy suffer." He paused, stroking Iceland's chest. "I bet you're wondering what experiment we'll be doing today. Well, we're going to see how a Nation reacts to electrical currents being sent through his body. Not to mention, young Sealand will be having a little…operation…while Estonia will get a…special treat. He'll be away from the others for awhile; we don't want them catching the Plague." He laughed, slamming his fist on Iceland's chest. "But you'll see those tests later. Erikur is the star, today. Rodriguez!" He turned to the raven-haired woman. "Begin the procedure!"

From the way he was restrained, Iceland could not see what was turned on, but he assumed it was some sort of generator. Before he could prepare himself for the pain, an agonizing shock went through his body. His back arched, and he couldn't even scream. All he could manage was an odd whining noise that scared even himself.

"Not enough! Add more power!" Fletcher commanded. Iceland was able to force his eyes shut before another wave of pain hit him. He felt his heart beat rapidly, too rapidly, and he no longer had control over his limbs. His head swam, and he was ready to give into the darkness surrounding his vision, but for some reason, his body wouldn't let him.

"Step aside!" Fletcher barked. "I'll do this myself."

When the third and fourth waves hit, Iceland could feel his body tremble, horrid spasms causing the restraints to cut into his arms and legs. The pain in his chest increased tenfold, and his head felt like a sledgehammer hit it. This continued again and again until he lost all sense of time.

"Please," he rasped, tears now falling from his eyes. "Fyrirgefðu! Vinsamlegast! Það er sárt!" He knew he was speaking Icelandic, but it was the only language he could remember, at the moment. He smelled burning skin, and when he realized it was his own, he began to hyperventilate.

"Tch. I knew it. You're just like Eduard; you act cold and aloof, but really, you're just a good-for-nothing, worthless outcast. I'll end this now; it's already been an hour."

Iceland could do nothing as another wave hit; he was beginning to shut down by this point. His body arched, twitching uncontrollably, until his arms broke free from the restraints. He vaguely sensed Fletcher hold him down, but not even his iron grip could stop the spasms. His heart beat faster, painfully faster, and his eyes snapped open.

"Add more, Stanfield!" Fletcher yelled. "We still haven't gone full power!"

When nothing happened, Fletcher thundered, "Rodriguez! Full power!"

Suddenly, Fletcher let Iceland go. Before he could comprehend what was going on, the final jolt hit him, this one stronger than the others. His legs finally broke free, and he could feel blood vessels popping under his skin and even his eyes, which had rolled back into his skull. His heart beat faster and faster until it lurched to a stop. He sensed the lights flicker and finally go dim before white overtook his vision, and he fell limp onto the table, still twitching.

Before his hearing shut down, he heard Rodriguez sigh. "It's a shame we lost the pretty one…"

At that moment, Iceland was gone. He couldn't feel pain, see, hear, or smell. He felt like he was floating in nothingness. _He _was nothing. This seemed to go on for an eternity until, suddenly, the nothingness disappeared, instead being replaced by someone's frantic yelling.

"Erikur!" the person called, sobbing. "Wake up! Please! I can't…I can't be alone! Please! Lūdzu!"

Iceland forced his eyes open. When the world came back to him, he felt drops of something wet fall on his face. _Rain? _He looked up and saw Latvia leaning over him, his face contorted in sadness and grief.

"Islande?" the smaller boy whispered. "Erikur?" A wobbly smile appeared on his face before he sobbed, the relief on his face obvious.

"Where…where are the others?" Iceland found that his throat burned, almost as if someone set it on fire.

"Not back yet. I'm…I'm scared. Peter was screaming before you woke up, but now there's no noise. And when they dragged you back in here, I thought…I thought they'd finally managed to kill a Nation. Your heart wasn't beating, and you're all burnt. Even your eyes bled! You looked like you were in so much pain…"

A fresh wave of sobs overtook the small Nation, so powerful he sank to the floor and curled up, coughing. Acting on instinct, Iceland forced himself to drag his body closer to Latvia's trembling form. The small movements were exhausting, but he didn't care. He smiled when Latvia embraced him tightly, not caring that his wounds were being aggravated. The smile fell when he felt his friend spasm and whine, just like he himself did when he was being shocked.

"My neck!" Latvia cried. "It burns!"

"That bastard!" Iceland rasped. "I know what that collar is for! I bet Fletcher will shock you whenever you embrace me! He wanted us to share a punishment; he said so himself!"

Instead of pulling away, Latvia tightened his grip on the Icelander.

"Raivis! Please, you can let go; I don't want him to hurt you."

"No! I'm tired of being the submissive pet! I'm going to show him…" He was shocked again, his body writhing. "He. Can't. Control. Me." With each word, Iceland could feel his friend suffering. But no matter how many times he was shocked, Latvia refused to let go. After a few minutes, he passed out, his arms still wrapped around Iceland. The shocks continued for awhile, and Iceland forced his arms around the small blond to give him some sort of comfort, even though he knew he was too far gone to realize it. _Fletcher's just being cruel now, torturing him after he's already unconscious. _He smelled burnt skin, but this time, it was Latvia's, a fact that made him want to vomit.

Suddenly, the full extent of his injuries hit him, and he whimpered. His vision swam, and this time, he was able to embrace the blackness. _Thank you…_

* * *

**And that was the end of this…lovely…chapter. **

**Hopefully, Iceland wasn't too OOC. (I'm not used to writing him in pain.) **

**Ugh, this experiment was harder to write than Latvia's vivisection! (Probably because electrocution is much harder to express in writing than someone being cut open, X'D.) **

**Haha, Fletcher's obsession with Latvia is beginning to become more obvious… (However, as of this moment, it is not a romantic obsession, though it's starting to enter that territory…-shudders-)**

**The next chapter will show what happened to Sealand and Estonia, as well as what the other Nations think of seeing Iceland electrocuted into a temporary death. (The image of his blood vessels popping is disturbing, especially the ones in his eyes…) **

**Speaking of which, hopefully Iceland's 'death' was portrayed adequately. **

**As for why Iceland woke up sooner than Latvia, his body had more time to start the healing process, since this is the first procedure he went through without anesthetics. **

**Translations:  
Fyrirgefðu: I'm sorry (Icelandic)  
Vinsamlegast: Please (Icelandic)  
Það er sárt: It hurts (Icelandic)  
Lūdzu: Please (Latvian)**

**Hopefully this chapter didn't suck…**


End file.
